


OCEAN DREAMS

by Jakquill



Series: seaQuest - Ocean Gifts [1]
Category: seaQuest
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-19
Updated: 2016-01-19
Packaged: 2018-05-14 22:41:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5761639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jakquill/pseuds/Jakquill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternative universe story for seaQuest DSV, in which Captain Nathan Bridger and Lucas Wolenczak are given a gift - whether they want it or not!</p>
            </blockquote>





	OCEAN DREAMS

OCEAN DREAMS  
by JakQuill

*It's because we all come from the sea. And it is an interesting  
biological fact that all of us have in our veins, the exact same percentage  
of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean. And therefore we have salt  
in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the Ocean and  
when we go back to the sea to sail or to watch it, we are going back from  
whence we came.*  
seaQuest DSV -- The Movie.

 

Lucas sat at his consul and stared at the blank screen and the blinking  
cursor. He had work up to his eyebrows and if he didn't start on some of  
it soon the Captain would be on his tail. Suddenly he spun his seat around  
and looked at the man relaxing on the lower bunk. The question that had  
been lurking in the back of his mind for months finally escaped.

"What's it like, Tony?" 

Piccolo looked up in confusion, "What?"

"What's it like to breath water?" Lucas moved over to squat beside the  
young man on the bunk. "Tell me what it's like to swim like that, to  
breath like that!"

"Hey, what brought this on?" 

Lucas waved a hand, "I don't know, it's just I've always wondered what's  
it like but I've never been able to ask Darwin in the right way, and you,  
well...you're the closest I've got to a human Darwin."

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Darwin watched and listened. What his human friend said was true, there  
was no way he could tell Lucas what it's like to be a dolphin, to live in  
the sea. The words just would not come out of the machine right. He could  
not tell Lucas, but maybe he could show him. Turning around, Darwin headed  
for the Moon Pool. Lifting his head free of the water Darwin said one word  
that the machine translated as "Out!" and one of the many technicians in  
the room nodded his understanding and set in motion the opening of the sea  
door to let Darwin out of the seaQuest. 

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Lucas sat in the corner of the ship's gym using the small weights while  
watching sea-man, sorry, sea-person Wanda Wilcox on the Stepper. The view  
he had was fantastic. That young woman had muscles that seemed to have a  
mind of their own. He watched as her body started to move to the rhythm of  
the exercise she was doing. Her buttocks clenched and unclenched as she  
moved up and down. And her thighs thickened each time her muscles pushed  
down on the pedal. Even though he was watching her body like a hawk, it  
took him a little while to notice that she was talking to the person using  
the Stepper next to her.

He wasn't too surprised to see that it was Miguel Ortiz. That guy knew  
cute when he saw it. It struck Lucas that the two of them were wearing the  
same kind of gym gear, very short short's and a butchered seaQuest t-shirt,  
and that they looked good on both of them. Migeul's t-shirt was stuck to  
his body in places with sweat from his work-out, and his dark good looks  
made him a perfect foil to the paleness of the blonde woman next to him.  
Still thinking that thought, Lucas watched the two of them working out on  
the gear and the sight brought back the memory of the trouble they'd  
recently had with the Atlantis artifacts. In his minds eye he again saw  
Ortiz swinging that sword like someone from one of his war games. 

While all this was going through him mind Ortiz and Wilcox had got into  
the same rhythm on the Steppers and Lucas found that he couldn't take his  
eyes of the way their muscles squeezed...Miguel seemed to draw his gaze  
more though, and Lucas found himself fascinated by a single drop of sweat  
that had crept out from under Miguel's short t-shirt. His eyes watched  
that droplet until it disappeared beneath the waist of seaman's shorts,  
then he imagined where it went.

"What!" he muttered to himself, "where did that come from?" Quickly  
getting up, Lucas replaced the weights and headed for the showers. The two  
people that had held his attention so closely didn't even notice his going.  
Luckily the showers were empty and Lucas was able to get control of  
himself and wash away the sweat from his work-out. Unfortunately he  
couldn't wash away the memories. Why had Ortiz caught his attention like  
that? Why?

He went back to his cabin and buried himself in his work. At least there  
he knew what he was doing. Lucas tried to push all the strange thoughts to  
the back of his mind for a week. An unusual week really. His dreams  
seemed to be a mixture of Darwin's yet again and some that his dolphin  
could never have had. Dreams of swimming in darkness and light, of  
touching and nuzzling, of heat and cold. Really weird stuff. And on top  
of everything else he'd gone and picked up a rash or something on his legs.  
If he didn't know better he'd think it was sunburn. He kept putting off a  
visit to Dr Smith because she might pick up that memory in the back of his  
mind.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Darwin watched from behind the glass, with his beak he pushed the rock a  
little closer to the glass beside Lucas' bunk.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Captain Bridger found that the examination table in the Sick Bay of the  
seaQuest was as hard as any other examination table. 

"Can you tell me how long you've had this rash?"

"It started, or at least I noticed it about five days ago. At first it  
was just a slight itch and a bit of redness, but it's got worse over the  
last day or so."

"Well I can tell you that it's not sunburn!"

"Ha, ha, I kind of guessed that myself."

"I'll take some skin samples and send them to the lab. Here," she handed  
him a jar of green cream, "use this every time you wash. Work it in good  
and it should also help stop the itch. I'll get back to you as soon as the  
test results come through." Her hand snapped out and slapped his hand,  
"And no scratching, you'll make it worse!"

After the Captain left, Dr Smith made out the request form and placed it  
and the jar holding the skin samples on the out tray to the lab. When the  
lab assistant came to the Sick Bay to pick up all the requests for tests,  
she piled them in the such a way that Bridger's ended up right on the  
bottom instead of the top. It was going to be a while before those tests  
came back.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

The dreams were starting to bother Lucas a lot, they kept waking him up  
over and over all through the night. Turning on his side he stared into  
the water that flowed past him on the other side of the glass. Reaching  
out, he touched the cool smooth surface and came to a decision. He  
couldn't sleep for the dreams so he might as well go down and see if Darwin  
was awake. As silently as possible Lucas climbed down from the top bunk,  
trying not to wake Tony on the bottom bunk. Pushing his feet into a pair  
of slippers and still dressed in just his t shirt and pyjamas bottoms,  
Lucas made his way down to the Moon Pool. Without thinking about it, he  
scratched his legs several times, the itch was getting worse.

On his way he didn't see another person, it was very late, or very early.  
The room was empty when he got there, not even Darwin was around. For a  
moment Lucas wondered wether or not to call him, but decided against it.  
Going over to the side of the pool Lucas leaned against it and stared down  
into the clear water. Reaching out he let his fingers swirl in the  
coolness of it. His leg gave a bad twitch just then and he swore as he  
reached down and gave the place a hard rub with his wet hand. The moment  
the wet leg of his pyjamas touched his hot skin the itch stopped and it  
felt wonderful. 

"That's it!" he muttered to himself, "I can't sleep and this itch is  
killing me." Without worrying about a suit, he kicked his slippers into a  
corner and climbed over the edge of the pool. The water felt wonderful.  
Swimming over to an out-of-the-way part of the pool, Lucas reached up and  
threaded his fingers through the mesh of the overhanging walk-way. Keeping  
only his head and upper arms out of the water, Lucas floated into a dream  
state. The water caressed him and he found himself fading into one of the  
dreams he'd been haunted by for the last few days. 

 

*He was Darwin and he swam through the water. With a quick flick of his  
fluke he was out of the water and dancing across the surface, letting the  
sunlight flash in his eyes. Then he was back in the blueness of home,  
spinning and diving. He headed back down to feed, laughing in joy as the  
water flowed over his smooth skin.*

 

Lucas smiled as he dreamed, his fingers slowly unlocked their grip on  
the mesh and, as he dived in the deep in his dream, Lucas silently slid  
beneath the surface of the Moon Pool until he landed in the shadows on the  
bottom of the pool. 

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Tony didn't really take any notice when he got up for his watch that  
Lucas was already gone. The kid had been getting up early lately and so  
the seaman went on duty not even worrying about the whereabouts of Lucas.  
Most of the crew on seaQuest were used to the strange way that Lucas worked  
so that when he didn't appear for some of his appointments nothing was  
thought of it. It wasn't until mid afternoon when he was suppose to see  
the Captain about something that his disappearance was noticed.

"Lucas? No sir, haven't seen Lucas since last night," was Piccolo's  
answer to the Captains query.

"Damn, where is that boy? He was supposed to meet me 30 minutes ago."

"You know Lucas, Captain," said Ford, "maybe he's playing around with a  
program on his computer."

"No, no, I've checked his cabin," before anyone could speak he went on,  
"and the labs, the Moon Pool and everywhere else Lucas would go to."

"Have you asked Darwin if he's seen Lucas?"

"Can't, Lucas let him out yesterday afternoon for the night as we were  
patrolling such a small area and he's not back yet." Bridger turned around  
to face his consul, reaching out he hit a button and spoke, " Lieutenant  
Brodie, Lucas is missing, I want security to do a sweep of the ship, find  
him!" Bridger reached down and scratched his leg. Brodie's voice echoed  
overhead, "Yes sir."

Bridger paced all through the long hours it took to search the seaQuest  
from stem to stern. It was very late in the afternoon and there was still  
no sight of Lucas.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Darwin nudged him awake and just for a second Lucas didn't even wonder  
how the dolphin had gotten in his room, but only for a second. Then the  
reality of where he was broke through the mist of sleep and it had him  
jerking and straining for the light above him. 

He'd been asleep on the bottom of the Moon Pool! What the hell was going  
on! Spluttering and gasping, Lucas looked around the darkness of the Moon  
Pool area. But hadn't he left the lights on? Then something else broke  
his concentration, the itch was gone. That was when he realised that the  
itch wasn't the only thing gone.

"Oh wow!" Darwin swam around him, and Lucas reached out with an  
absent-minded pat. "Oh wow," he repeated.

"Lucas like gift? Now don't need words, yes." Darwin's eyes was full of  
knowledge and Lucas found himself losing himself in that knowledge. 

He was naked and yet he wasn't. His lower body had changed. He wasn't a  
human, at least the kind of human he had been. Now Lucas had more in  
common with his dolphin friend then ever before. His legs had seemed to  
have merged and become a tail and fluke, something like that of Darwin's  
and yet not. Letting his hand reach down, with hesitant fingers, Lucas  
touched the cool new skin that covered his lower body. Then he looked at  
his hands, at the back of hands then he ran them up his arms across his  
shoulders and down his chest. This wasn't him and yet it was...is. A  
Lucas that would have come into being in a few years after his body  
finished growing. His body had fully matured. His chest was broad and yet  
he didn't have the bulkiness of too much muscle and, though he couldn't see  
them, his features was those of a Greek sculpture. He was truly beautiful,  
in his change-over he had seemed to grow older, or at least look it. He  
had the body of a swimmer, wide shoulders, strong arms, everything a  
swimmer would need. Flexing the muscles that had once bent his knees had  
him moving backwards in the Moon Pool as his tail pushed him through the  
water.

"Wow!" the soft word echoed through the empty room. 

Ducking his head under the surface of the water, Lucas blinked at the new  
sight he now possessed and laughed as his lungs didn't give out. Without  
any further thought but to get to the sea, Lucas headed for the exit that  
his dolphin had always used to go free and Darwin followed after. It was  
closed because the Moon Pool hadn't been pressurised and he had no way of  
getting out of the Pool to fix that. But Lucas let his need for the deep  
blue sea over-ride all other thought, using the strength that was now his,  
he pushed.

 

On the bridge of the seaQuest a light flashed on Ortiz's board. 

"Captain, we have a malfunction with the Moon Pool sea doors, they seem  
to be opening themselves.!"

"Commander, seal the Moon Pool pressure doors, now!" Bridger hit a  
button on his consul, "Lieutenant Brodie, get to the Moon Pool and find out  
what's going on! Ortiz, get a whisker to that door and give us a view." 

The whisker was in place just as the door was opened. Everyone one the  
bridge stared at the screen waiting for something to happen. And it did!

Lucas swan slowly out into full view of the camera.

"My god, Lucas! Lucas?" Bridger's voice was filled with shock as he  
reached out to steady himself. Then, "Piccolo, get out there and get me  
some answers!"

 

Piccolo was being outfitted in the Moon Pool room before Bridger finished  
speaking. With his underwater microphone in place he was in the water  
faster then he'd ever been before. The sight that came to him as he left  
the seaQuest was shocking. Oh, he had seen the figure on the screen, but  
up close it was all so different, very different!

In the lights from the seaQuest and the hovering whiskers Lucas' lower  
body shimmered. Unlike the way Darwin hovered, Lucas was floating upright,  
his fluke gently moving back and forwards, keeping him in one place. His  
legs had completely reformed into a tail and fluke, Tony observed, and he  
was bigger, taller might have been a better word, as his long tail curved  
behind him and it looked something like that of a dolphin or porpoise. The  
skin on his tail looked like it was smoother then normal skin. Tony tried  
to stop himself from looking, but the kid was naked and the seaman could  
see quite clearly his genitals were hidden away in a slit much like the  
other mammals of the sea and that there was another slit just below that.

"You know Tony, you were right, it is indescribable isn't it?" The kid's  
voice was clear to the man with the gills, so he decided to give it a go.

"Lucas, kid, what happened to you?" Spreading his arms, Lucas did a flip  
and ended up back in place.

"I was given a gift." Darwin, still hovering beside the youth, nodded  
and Tony got the idea that the dolphin was agreeing with what Lucas said.

"But how? I mean, I got my gills through an operation. How did you  
get...get that?" he asked nodding at Lucas' altered body. Everybody on the  
Bridge stared at the sight on the screen in front of them. Bridger spoke  
quietly to Dr Smith, "Can you pick anything up from him? Anything at all?"

"Joy and happiness," Dr Smith shook her head. "He is...happy, that's all  
I seem to pick up." Bridger sat forward, "Lucas, can you come back on  
board? We need to find out what happened to you."

"I don't think so." Bridger had heard that tone in Lucas' voice before,  
the boy was going to be thickheaded.

"Okay," said the Captain unconsciously scratching his legs, "I'll come  
out to you. I'll be out in a moment." Getting O'Neill to turn off the  
outside speakers, the Captain turned to the Doctor and Commander Ford.

"Commander, get me a launch ready. When I get out there have Piccolo  
called back in, but keep him ready, just in case, oh and don't let anyone  
else out until I give an all clear, understood." Ford nodded.

"On your own, Captain?" asked the doctor. "That's not a good idea."

"I need to talk to Lucas, and I think I can get through to him better if  
I do this one on one." Leaving the Bridge they entered the mag-lev.

Dr Smith lent forward, "I don't advise using the EVA suit." 

"Hmmm, neither do I. I know it's Lucas out there but we have no idea  
what has happened to him." The Captain thought and scratched, "have a  
whisker hang back behind the launch just within range," he said to Ford.  
"Keep it pin-pointed on all conversations, we might be lucky enough to pick  
up some answers the easy way." Ford nodded.

"Oh, and Jonathan, find out where Lucas' father is and send someone to  
get him...wait, send Brodie and a couple of security guards with him. I  
want Wolenczak here." 

"I'll get right on it sir."

"Dr Smith," the Captain went on as they exited the mag lev, "keep your  
attention on Lucas and record all that you feel from him. We need to know  
what the hell happened to him!" Bridger scratched his right leg as it  
rested on one of the steps leading to the launch-bay. After a quick nod to  
Commander Ford, Bridger climbed into the launch and prepared for leaving  
the seaQuest. As he sat and steered the small launch, he felt a bad twinge  
on his lower right leg, "Damn this itch to hell," he muttered to himself.  
"I've got to go back and see the Doctor again, this is getting ridiculous."

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Lucas swam slowly around the seaQuest getting used to his gift, as Tony  
and the whiskers watched. Piccolo felt at a loss at what to do. The kid  
wouldn't answer any of his questions and he didn't even bother trying to  
talk to Darwin. He was sure that the dolphin knew something about all  
this, he just didn't know what.

Tony had had his gills for a while now and since joining the seaQuest he  
had used them more then ever before, and had loved every second of it!  
Being the kind of person he was he really couldn't talk about it to anyone.  
But here and now, as he watched Lucas, he envied the kid his complete  
freedom in his new environment. Just looking at him and Darwin together  
you would think that water had always been Lucas' world. 

Tony got his orders to return to the seaQuest just as the Captain left it  
on his launch. Darwin followed him back to the seaQuest and the two of  
them popped up at the same time in the Moon Pool. 

"Close the outer doors," Tony gave the order without thinking about it.  
He had to keep Darwin on board until he spoke to the Commander or Dr Smith,  
they would know what to do.

Climbing out of the pool, he spoke to a technician as he dried himself  
quickly, "Don't let Darwin out until I get back with the Commander and Dr  
Smith. I think they'll want to talk to him about our trouble outside."  
The technician didn't argue, even though he was a higher rank then Piccolo.

"Okay Tony, we'll keep the outer doors all locked." Not even bothering  
to get dressed, Tony ran out of the room and headed for the Bridge. 

"Commander Ford, I need to speak to you and the Doctor about something."  
Ford turned around, annoyed at Piccolo's outburst, but one look at the man  
had him on his feet and motioning the Doctor to follow them to the Ward  
Room. 

"Darwin knows something," blurted out Tony as the two looked at him,  
"While I was out taking to Lucas it was as if he approved at what Lucas had  
become, he knows something."  
Dr Smith nodded slowly, "Hmm, I can see that. Something caused the change  
in Lucas, he didn't do it to himself, soo...But what did he do to Lucas  
that could cause him to mutate like that?"

"And can it happen to us?" asked Ford. 

All the Doctor could do was shrug, "Let's get down to the Moon Pool and  
see if he'll answer our questions."

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Bridger moved the launch out clear of the shadow of the seaQuest.

"Lucas? Are you still with me?" The Captain heard Lucas' voice over the  
underwater microphone.

"I'm still here Captain, see!" The Captain jerked backwards as a shadowy  
form popped up in front of him.

"Hey! Lucas, you scared ten years off me!" The youth waved at him  
though the thick glass, "Sorry about that Captain. Why don't you come out,  
it's really great out here." The Captain watched as Lucas started to do a  
series of movements that resembled those of Darwin's, flips, spins,  
pirouette on his tail. It was a sight never before seen by humans.  
Bridger couldn't believe his eyes, he was watching a Merman, a real live  
Merman and he wasn't even drunk. 

"Lucas, listen to me. It's really urgent that I get you back to the  
seaQuest. We need to find out what did this to you and if it can be  
reversed." That last bit caught the merman's attention.

"Reversed? I don't think so Captain! I like this," he spread his arms  
to show off more of his changed physique. Bridger angrily scratched his  
legs, god they hurt! 

"Listen to me Lucas, something did this to you and we don't know what or  
how. You might be only the first, others on the seaQuest might also be  
affected. We need to know!"

"You're not my father, I don't have to do what you say!"

"I know I'm not your father, but I've always been your friend and as your  
friend I think you should come back on board the seaQuest so that we can  
find out what happened to you!"

While the two had been talking, Lucas had began moving backwards, further  
and further from the seaQuest and without realising what he was doing,  
Bridger followed after.

"Don't you see Captain, the gift I was given has been the wish of many  
people down through the ages! People like me don't have to worry about  
failing life support or what would happen if the habitat or vehicle springs  
a leak. My life and those of any others would be something like the life  
Darwin lives. Free to roam the oceans and seas of the world." 

Bridger knew that the words coming from Lucas weren't all that powerful,  
that even if they were true, he couldn't understand why he found himself  
reacting to the pictures forming in his mind. Suddenly Lucas was right up  
against the plasti-glass in front of him.

"Captain, if you'd only come out here, I'd show you." Lucas slapped the  
flat of his hand against the plasti-glass.

"Stop that Lucas!" Bridger suddenly realised just how far they were from  
the seaQuest. 

"Stop that! You'll kill me, I'm not like you!"

"You can be if you tried!" Lucas' reply didn't make any sense to the  
Captain at all but he had things to do so he ignored the words. Turning  
the Launch around, he switched the microphone back on. The noise of Lucas  
attacking stopped and when the Captain looked up he saw the youth was gone  
from sight. But Bridger knew exactly where he had gone and seconds later  
the engines died.

"Captain, what's happened?" came Ford's voice, "you've stopped dead in  
the water."

"Get me some help out here, Lucas is trying to get me out of the launch."  
The silence hung there for a long second then Ford was back, "I'll have a  
rescue launch right there sir. Have you got any breathing gear with you?"

Suddenly Lucas was back and Bridger saw the smile of the old Lucas while  
the new one again started to slam with all his strength against the  
plasti-glass. Bridger fumbled under his seat, "All I can reach right now  
is the emergency supply, but I don't know," he glanced at the gauges in  
front of him, "I didn't realise I was so deep..."

"Yes sir," Ford's voice was his command voice, Bridger recognised it,  
he'd used it often enough himself over the years. 

"The launch is leaving the seaQuest now sir, eta to your position is  
three minutes." Bridger watched the hair line cracks as they started to  
scar the plasti-glass in front of him. Too late.

"Jonathan," he climbed to his feet, backing away from the truth that  
Lucas was about to kill him, "Jonathan, he doesn't realised what he's  
doing...." Suddenly he cried out as the pain in his legs that had been  
steadily worsening came to the fore. His legs buckled under him as Ford's  
voice blasted around him.

"Sir! Captain, Captain Bridger! Are you......"

The world exploded as shattered glass, water and darkness flowed around  
Captain Nathan Bridger.

 

Even from the Bridge they could see the fountain of bubbles as the air  
exploded out of the Captain's launch.

"Damn! Damn it to hell! Too far away," groaned Ford as the crew watched  
in horror. When Dr Smith fell against him, Ford turned and caught her  
before she crumbled to the floor. 

"Commander Ford sir, look!" called out Ortiz, and still holding the  
Doctor up, he saw Piccolo darting towards the crippled launch carrying  
rescue gear for the Captain. The whisker followed close behind him,  
manipulated by Ortiz.

Through the whiskers camera they saw Piccolo enter the water logged  
launch through the smashed front. The minutes seemed to stretch until he  
appeared again. Alone, and still carrying the rescue gear.

"He's...the Captain's not here sir, he's gone."

"My god" whispered Ford, still holding the unconscious doctor, "What has  
happened to Lucas to make him do that to the Captain?" The doctor stirred  
and Ford sat her in the Captain's seat, just as Darwin spoke.

"Lucas want friend to have fun with!" Ford rounded on the dolphin, more  
angry with Darwin then he could ever remember before.

"He killed the Captain!" Ford shouted, "He just drowned him!"

"Yes, yes," nodded Darwin, "have fun!" Not even trying to understand  
what the dolphin was going on about, Ford closed the Bridge Pool in disgust.

"Maybe he didn't understand what you meant," the doctor spoke without  
opening her eyes.

"He understood," muttered the Commander, "and I think Piccolo is right,  
Darwin knows something and I want to find out what it is!" He leant over  
the doctor, "Are you all right now?"

"Yes, sorry about that. I was there with him, in the end. I didn't want  
him to be alone out there." She felt Ford's hand on her shoulder as the  
Bridge crew broke out babbling.

"But why take the body?" asked O'Neill. 

"I want to know why he did that. That was not the Lucas we know," that  
was from Ortiz. There were other words but Ford was thinking and didn't  
take them in. Suddenly Piccolo's voice broke around them. He'd been  
looking around the downed launch in case the Captain's body had just been  
thrown clear in the explosion of air.

"seaQuest, do you copy?" Ford waved the Bridge to silence.

"Yes Tony, have you found anything?" was Ford's reply.

"Sorry Commander, not a thing. Do you want us to start a search for  
Lucas and the Captain's body?" Ford thought for a moment.

"No, Tony, come back in. I doubt that you'll find Lucas unless he wants  
you to." After one long look behind him, Piccolo turned back to the  
seaQuest and headed in, the rescue launch close behind him. 

Ford started giving orders. "Put the ship on alert. As soon as the  
launch and Piccolo are back on board I want all the air locks, any way that  
anything can get into the seaQuest, locked. Understand?"

Heads nodded and 'ayes' floated around the Bridge.

"No one is to leave the seaQuest without my personal permission. I want  
all the launches outfitted with a complete range of underwater gear. Have  
all the whiskers on a full range sensor sweep. Any contact with Lucas I  
want to know right away. And I want Piccolo to report to me as soon as  
he's back on board."

Ford turned to O'Neill and took a deep breath. "Tim, get me a direct,  
secure line to UEO headquarters at Cape Quest. I need to speak to the  
Secretary General himself. Patch it through to the Ward Room. Then close  
down all ship to shore communication except through your board." He heard  
O'Neill quite affirmative as he turned to Doctor Smith, "I could use the  
support..." he murmured to her. She nodded and followed after him. 

"What are you going to tell them?"

"Whether the line is secure or not, I'm going to keep it short and as far  
away from the truth as I can."

 

Ford sat in front of the screen just as O'Neill's voice came over the  
speakers.

"I have Secretary General McGath on line for you, Commander."

"Okay, put him through." The screen lit up and after the UEO motif came  
McGath's frowning face.

"Commander, this is a surprise. Your communication man wouldn't say why  
you needed to speak to me so urgently."

Ford thanked the Lord for O'Neill's good sense.

"Sir, we have a situation here. The Captain's been killed in a launch  
accident."

McGath stood up and the camera lost his face for a moment, "What?" he  
roared. "Nathan! Dead? How?" 

Ford took advantage of the fact that McGath couldn't see his face and  
wiped his forehead. The story he was about to tell had to be enough to get  
McGath to believe him, but leave the seaQuest down here on her own to cope.  
"The Captain was out in a launch with Lucas, doing some work out in front  
of the seaQuest. Luckily there was a whisker close to the launch and it  
picked up the trouble almost right away. We know that the Captain is dead,  
but we think Lucas is still alive. The launch is in a position where we  
have to be careful in rescuing him, so we can't leave the area." 

"I grieve for the loss of your Captain and my friend, but why the secure  
line, Commander?" Ford wiped his palms on his trouser legs.

"I have a feeling that it wasn't a complete accident."

"Sabotage!" stated the head of the UEO. Ford nodded, well you could call  
what Lucas did sabotage.

"That's another reason for staying out here, no one can leave the  
seaQuest." 

"You have no idea who the saboteur is."

"I have my suspensions sir." McGath sat there and thought.

"Have you contacted Wolenczak about his son?"

"That's being taken care of, sir." Brodie should be well on his way by  
now. Ford only hoped that he could talk his son back to sanity. 

"Do you want me to come out to the seaQuest?"

Ford shook his head, "I don't think so sir. Even though the seaQuest  
could really use you at this moment in time, it might be dangerous for the  
head of the UEO to be here right now."

"And you Doctor, what do you think?" Doctor Smith coolly met the eyes of  
the older man.

"I think the Commander is right, you might not be safe on the seaQuest  
right now." McGath nodded slowly.

"Do you want me to keep this quiet?"

"I don't see why sir. It happened and everybody on board knows. If it  
isn't reported there might be problems." 

"I'll put out a press release then. I'll only mention Nathan, I won't  
say anything about Lucas until you get back to me. And understand me  
Commander, get back to me as soon as you have anything."

"Yes sir!" Ford signed off and when McGath's face was of the screen he  
fell back in his seat.

"Jonathan! I never knew you could lie so well!"

"Heaven knows what he's going to say when he finds out that we have a  
maddened merman on the loose!"

"Well we can't take a chance on someone coming hunting Lucas. We have to  
find him ourselves." 

They left the Ward Room and almost ran into Piccolo as he rushed to the  
Bridge, close behind him was one of the Doctor's lab technicians.

"Tony, slow down."

"Dr Smith," panted the other man, "Dr Smith, we found something in the  
Moon Pool that might help us." The doctor took the sealed plastic bag from  
the man. It was full of damp clothes.

"We think that they might have been Lucas'. He left the ship from the  
Moon Pool's sea doors!"

"Jonathan, I'll take these down to the lab and we'll start analysing them  
and see what we can come up with. We still don't know how he changed."

"Okay doctor. When you get something call me." The group split up.  
Ford pulled Piccolo back into the Ward Room and started to question him on  
every word Lucas had said to him. 

 

And the hours went by.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

*The water held him up and pushed him along as he flew through the blue  
deep. He was just deep enough so that the light from above formed sparkles  
that brightened the backs of the other dolphins around him. Everything was  
effortless, the diving, the playing, the touching. Everything was joy!*

 

Lucas sat with the head of his Captain in what once would have been his  
lap. With gentle fingers he pushed the unruly hair back from a creased  
forehead. "Captain," he whispered into Bridger's ear, "Please Captain,  
it's time to wake up." 

Bridger twisted his head, turning his ear away from the voice that was  
trying to take him away from his dreams. Snuggling closer to the warmth  
his hand came up and touched the hand that was now resting on his bare  
shoulder.

"Hmmmm? Lucas? What time is it?" his voice was muzzy, even after all  
these years in the Navy, he still hated getting up early. 

"It's time to have fun, to be free." 

The quiet words tugged at a memory that lurked in the back of his mind.  
A memory that hurt too much to remember. 

Very gently, remembering his own awakening, Lucas pulled him a little  
further up the sandy beach in the small grotto he had found. He didn't  
want to take the chance that if he left the Captain underwater when he  
awoke changed, that he might injure himself if...when he panicked. 

Stretching, Bridger rubbed his eyes before he opened them, he really  
didn't want to leave his dreams, but those words that Lucas had spoken  
still pulled at his memory. 

Lucas saw that he had been right to pull the Captain from the water.  
When those shocked eyes first saw him, then looked down at himself, Lucas  
could see the panic fighting to control the Captain's mind. But this man  
wasn't the Captain of the most powerful submersible in all the oceans for  
nothing.

Pushing the panic and fear into the back of his mind, Bridger stared down  
at his lower body. He lifted his new fluke and found himself able to bend  
almost double to get a closer look at himself.

Nathan twisted his head around to look at Lucas, "What did you do?" He  
looked at his hands, his arms..."I, I'm like you!"

"I didn't do a thing," stated the younger merman. "You changed, like I  
did. Darwin told me that the gift was for the two of us. He said that I  
had to get you into the water as soon as I could or else you would have died."

"Died?" 

Lucas nodded, "The change-over reaches a certain step and then you have  
to be immersed in sea water to affect the complete change or else you die  
of dehydration."

"My legs," Nathan reached down and touched his new skin, "The rash, it  
was getting worse."

"I had the same problem until by a lucky accident I found out what to do.  
Darwin said that my change-over happened earlier then he expected and he  
wasn't in the seaQuest to warn me." Lucas sat back and let his friend  
discover the changes that had been wrought on his body *and* psyche.

Nathan felt different. Unlike Lucas, who had not reached his maturity  
before his change-over, Bridger had been a man full grown. He stretched  
everything, he hadn't felt this good in years, not since his early years in  
the Navy. Nathan had lost the wiry body of a man in his fifties. His new  
muscular development was that of a power swimmer, strong shoulders and  
arms, deep chest and though he couldn't see it, his beard and hair had lost  
all it's grey.

"Do you want to get in the water now," asked Lucas. "The feeling *is*  
beyond description."

Nathan looked at the dark lapping water that was the only way out of the  
grotto and then down at his new body.

"I'll be able to breath like you? To do what you did?"

Lucas nodded and slid silently into the water. Holding his hand out, he  
motioned Nathan to take it.

"We'll just go under a little here so that if it's to much for you, you  
can get back out easier." The part of Nathan's brain that was still  
Captain Bridger was starting to get hysterical. //People can't breath  
under water....// And people can't turn into mermen either, he told  
himself. 

Nathan pinched the new skin just below his waist and winced at the pain.  
He was... a merman. Taking Lucas' hand, he let the youth tug him into the  
darkness and then under it.

It was like coming home. Nathan took a deep breath and motioned Lucas to  
go deeper.

"I didn't know..." was all he could say as Lucas pulled him into his new  
world. The two of them swam hand in hand, not thinking of the seaQuest,  
just heading out to find adventure. 

As they left the tunnel and came out into the sunlit water Nathan gasped  
in wonderment, the view around them was magnificent, for the first time in  
his life Nathan was seeing his beloved ocean with nothing between him and  
it. He let his free hand drift out and touch the weed and living things of  
the reef as they swam through it. 

"Where are we?" he asked without really caring.

"I don't really know," replied Lucas, as he too drew in the sights around  
him, "I just pulled you free from the launch and swam until I found us a  
safe place. It's very pretty though."

The wonder of what they were doing finally sunk in and Nathan turned to  
Lucas, "Race ya!" and he shot off. Lucas called him to wait and laughingly  
raced after him. Around the coral bommies, under huge staghorn corals,  
through tunnels made of living creatures, the two mermen played. 

In a twisting dance that Darwin's people had used over the millennium,  
the two merman celebrated their life in the sea. Their new bodies twisted  
and bent with an elasticity that was a miracle to behold. Hands touched,  
bodies slid across one another. The whole thing was like the dreams they  
had both experienced during their change. They explored the reef, showing  
each other what they found, calling out to one another if they drifted  
apart, like a couple of tourists snorkelling for the first time. 

The colours, all the colours. The shades and textures of everything made  
their heads spin. Lucas hadn't had the time to notice after he had changed  
and, of course, this was the first time for Nathan. Oh, they had clocked  
up hundreds of hours diving and snorkelling, but this...It was as if they  
had been blind to the beauty around them all their lives. 

"The colours," murmured Lucas, as he touched a delicate sea fern, "I  
don't think I've ever seen colours like these before." 

"I think, Lucas, that more then our bodies have changed. It's as if  
we're using entirely different senses."

"Yes," Lucas nodded, his old self coming to the fore, wanting to know,  
needing to know, "Yes, like Darwin and his sonar." He licked his lips,  
"It's as if I can taste the colours in the water. And look," he held up  
his hands, and showed Nathan the increased webbing between his fingers. 

"Just enough to help us swim, but not enough to get in our way," he  
pointed out. They started to examine the differences that had been made to  
their bodies. 

Their legs had completely reformed into a tail and fluke, more like those  
of Darwin's species then any other's they could name, but their body seemed  
longer, as if the part of them still man-like had been added further up  
than at the waist of a sea mammal. Instead of a dorsal fin on their back,  
the pair of them had a ridge of bumps more like an over formed backbone  
ridge then anything else, it went almost to the point where their knees had  
once been. Nathan ran his fingers down the ridge on Lucas' back, feeling  
the bone under the thin layer of insulating fat.

"Hey," giggled Lucas, "that tickles. See if you like it."

"Stop that Lucas," laughed Nathan, "this is serious."

The skin on their tail was slightly smoother then that on their chest,  
abdomen, arms and head, but the new skin did follow the ridge up their  
backbone and over their back. Their navels were still in the same spot,  
just above the new skin, but their genitals were now hidden away in a slit  
much like the other mammals of the sea and their anal slit was just below  
that.

"Oh that reminds me," Lucas excused himself and swam behind a small clump  
of waving weed. A couple of minutes later, when he came out, he was  
blushing. "Well that was the weirdest experience so far." 

"I doubt that very much, Lucas, my boy. I doubt that very, very much."

"You know, I wish we could get to a scanner," Nathan ran his hand down  
his tail then back up again, "I would love to see the changes in here." 

Lucas nodded, "Hmm," he watched Nathan's hand, "makes you wonder which  
bone structure we would have, doesn't it. Would it be like the smaller  
mammals, dolphins and porpoises, or would it be completely different just  
because we used to walk upright and their ancestors were quadrupeds." Even  
discovering all the strange things about their unique bodies couldn't hold  
their attention for long. They were in the middle of paradise and that  
paradise was calling to them. 

They began to explore again, letting themselves roam over, around and  
through the sights.

"I'm hungry," Nathan heard himself say. The mermen thought about that  
word and pictures floated to the fore of their memories.

"There," pointed Lucas, "I think we can eat that."

Nathan nodded, his memory was telling him the same thing, so the two of  
them picked the pods of the brown weed and started to peel them like  
bananas. The flesh was crunchy like an apple but the taste was like  
nothing either had ever tasted before.

They were never too far from each other as they swam, touching, looking,  
both found themselves so curious, so fascinated about their new bodies and  
each others. 

"This is wonderful!" Nathan started to cork-screw and Lucas laughed, his  
hands reaching out so that his fingers skimmed Nathan's body as it twisted.  
The younger merman pressed his hand against the warm body of his friend  
and Nathan slowed down to fully enjoy the touch. 

He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Life can't get much better then this," he murmured as Lucas' other hand  
reached out and took one of his. Nathan opened his eyes when he felt  
Lucas' smooth skin under his captive hand. 

"Oh, I don't know," smiled back Lucas. Hands reached out and fingers  
gently touched skin. Nathan and Lucas smiled at one another as they  
explored the difference of each other's bodies.

Curving his arm around the younger merman's waist, Nathan pulled Lucas  
closer. Their chests touched but their lower bodies flicked back and  
forward to keep them from sinking. Every second or so their lower bodies  
brushed against one another and to Nathan it felt like fireworks were  
exploding in his stomach. Letting his hands move up and down Lucas' back  
made those explosions turn into a kind of jagged pain. Closing his eyes,  
Nathan drew Lucas' head to his shoulder and let his fingers dance though  
the youths blonde hair. 

Lucas sighed softly at the feelings Nathan was freeing within him. His  
own wandering hands started to explore. Rubbing his hands down and then up  
Nathan's flanks made the older merman tighten his grip and it was glorious,  
so Lucas did it again. Nathan's beard rubbed against his neck and he  
moaned at the feel of it. Lifting one of his hands, he pulled a little way  
from Nathan and rubbed his hand across the beard, his fingers skimming  
along the older merman's lips, which promptly closed over a finger tip. 

"Yes," he murmured, closing his eyes as Nathan drew his finger into his  
mouth. Suddenly, Nathan's tail flicked out and captured his. They sank  
towards the seabed, but neither noticed. As soon as Nathan's tail had  
seized his own, Lucas had grabbed the older man's shoulders , pulling him  
closer. His arms wrapped around Nathan's back, fingers gripping as tight  
as Nathan's tail. Explosions rocked through their bodies and neither  
wanted them to stop. Burying his face into Nathan's neck, Lucas let loose  
with a cry, that Nathan echoed seconds later.

"Whoa...." was all Lucas could mutter as they finally reached the sandy  
seabed, their seabed. The morning sunlight slanted into the blue around  
them. They were no longer what they had once been. Their bodies weren't  
the only things changing. All was different.

The day moved on as did the two mermen. Neither had any idea where they  
were and neither cared. Sometimes they rode the waves on the surface,  
jumping into the light and then crashing back into the blue again and  
again. In the up-world the day aged and the sun started the down trip to  
the horizon. And other times they found things that they knew they could  
eat and did so. They found themselves quite eager to eat all that they  
could, as if their new bodies were recharging themselves.

They dived deep and, because they didn't have the limitation of Darwin  
and those of his like, they were able to go deep and stay down for as long  
as they wished. 

"Look at that!" marvel Nathan. It was a old wood hulled ship of some  
kind. 

"Must have been down here for years," muttered Lucas as they swam closer.  
"A lot of the hull's rotted away." What had once been inside the vessel  
was now strewn across the seabed.

"It's a wonder that no one's found it."

"It's a big ocean," stated Nathan as he started to examine the encrusted  
stuff.

"Hey," murmured the boy in Lucas, "Maybe this was pirate ship and maybe  
there are chests full of golden doubloons."

"Maybe," laughed Nathan "We're not doing anything so let's look." The  
scattered gear from the ship had become homes to a lot of sea life so the  
two mermen carefully searched for the maybe chest of gold and jewels. At  
one time Lucas got a face full of squid ink and Nathan almost killed  
himself laughing at the sight of it.

It was after the second squid and the third ray that they found what  
looked like it might be a chest.

"Here use this," lifting a cannon ball he had dug up earlier, Nathan  
smashed the top of the chest, wielding the heavy lead ball like it was a  
small rock.

"Now that's treasure!" shot out Lucas. 

The silver was tarnished but the gold and jewels were still beautiful.  
Lucas ran his hands through the contents of the chest, letting the  
doubloons and jewels trickle through his fingers. A necklace sparkled in  
his hand and he held it up to the light, it was gold and just dripped of  
diamonds and sapphires. Tossing it over Nathan's head, he then arranged it  
to flow over his friends chest. 

 

"Now that looks good," murmured Lucas, giving it a final pat.

"Hey look," said Nathan, holding up an earing that matched the necklace.  
"Remember when I told you to lose that earing? Here." Reaching over,  
Nathan fixed the flashing jewels to Lucas' left ear.

"Looks good," he winked and Lucas laughed as he went back into the chest.  
Precious jewels flew around the mermen as they looked for things they  
liked. 

"Don't we look like a pair of barbarians," laughed Nathan. The two of  
them absolutely dripped gold and jewels. Nathan had stayed with sapphires  
and diamonds, while Lucas had gone for rubies to go with his diamonds, all  
except for the earing he wore, the one that matched Nathan's necklace, that  
he kept.

Belts made from gold that had once supported swords now rested about  
their waists. Each had at least two armlets studded with the jewels of  
their choice and Lucas, instead of the picking out a flowing cascade of  
jewels like Nathan's necklace wore two chains of solid gold slashing across  
his chest with a huge ruby brooch holding them in place. 

"I like it," smiled Nathan, "red suits you."

"And blue looks just as good on you." Nathan and Lucas ignored the rest  
of the treasure, what use had they of gold and jewels. They'd only taken  
what they had because it looked so beautiful. 

"Can we stay a while?" asked Lucas. "I'm feeling a little tired." Nathan  
nodded and they tipped the gold out in a pile. Making a couple of hollows  
in the doubloons, the two of them sat there in the classic pose captured by  
painters down through the ages. Now that his mind was still, that they had  
stopped the...the discovering of their new world Lucas realised that  
something was wrong.

He couldn't remember what date it was! Not that he needed dates now, it  
was just strange that the date was completely gone from his memory.  
Turning to Nathan, Lucas asked if he knew what the date was. It was then  
that the two mermen realised that what one needed in one life wasn't the  
same thing they needed in their new life. Bits and pieces of themselves  
had faded from their consciousness and neither had realised that it had  
been happening.

Lucas found himself letting his memory of his past fade away. It wasn't  
hard because his past had been fairly short and a lot of it was naturally  
forgotten as he grew older anyway.

While Nathan, who had lived a full life, was fighting the memory loss,  
found himself remembering his past, his wife and son. He didn't want to  
forget what feelings went with which face. The past was what we all were,  
what each of us was. And that brought him up short.

It was as if the Change was shifting, moulding him to live his new life,  
somehow deciding what he needed to remember and what he didn't need.

Lucas snuggled up beside him in a way that the other Lucas would never  
have done. "Nathan, what's happening? My mind is running around in  
circles but I can't get a hold of anything. It's as if the me of before is  
leaving. I'm...this has got me scared." The boy, and no matter what he  
now looked like, Lucas was still just a boy, was right, he should be  
scared. The gift they had been given had been fully welcomed by the two of  
them after the change-over, and neither wanted to go back. Maybe the past  
being taken away was too much to ask anyone. But wasn't the gain of such a  
future not worth the loss of one's past? 

"Talk to me Lucas, tell me about your mother. You know," he looked down  
into familiar eyes of the old Lucas, "you never talk much about her."  
Lucas slid his arm around Nathan's waist and Nathan put his arms around  
Lucas, holding him tight against his side. The young merman felt safe and  
secure this close to his friend. 

The two sat and talked about their past, trying to hold onto the memories  
that were trying to slip away un noticed.

The both of them were so wrapped up in their thought that neither heard  
the engines of the whisker that shot by them far above.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

The two merman had been travelling in a spiral pattern, and without  
realising it, they were back in the vicinity of the seaQuest. The outer  
limits of that vicinity, but still within range of the sweeping whiskers.

The whisker sent it's data back to it's station at the seaQuest and  
waited in line as Ortiz updated his information on his board. With all six  
whiskers out, he'd been hard pressed to keep up with all that was flowing  
past his eyes. A flash of colour or movement caught his eye, later he  
wasn't sure what had grabbed his attention but something did. Re-winding  
the film, he checked it before bringing it to the Commander's attention, he  
didn't want it to be another false alarm. 

His hands froze when he saw what he had, but only for a instant. After  
making only one hard copy he then quickly erased the image from his screen  
and that of the memory off both the ships computer and the one on the  
whisker. The Captain being alive was one hell of a shock but so was the  
sight of the Captain and Lucas in such a situation.

He looked up at the Bridge officers and let his eyes drift from one to  
another. No, there was no way that he was going to tell one of them that  
his whisker had just picked up the Captain and Lucas in what could only be  
called a passionate embrace. Suddenly Dr Smith spun around and stared him  
straight in the eye and Ortiz found himself blushing for the first time in  
a lot of years.

"What have you got Mr Ortiz?" her voice was gritty, they were all feeling  
the stress of the situation but Miguel got the feeling that the Doctor had  
her stress and was also picking up the feeling from the crew as well.

"Mr Ortiz?" The Commander moved to in front of Miguel's consul. "Well?  
Answer the Doctor!"

"Ahh, Commander, Dr Smith, can I see you a moment?."

The two moved up beside Ortiz and he handed them the clouded picture he  
had taken from the computer.

"My God, the Captain's alive!" whispered Ford.

"I don't understand it, I felt him die!"

The other Bridge officers were staring at them strangely so Ortiz lowered  
his voice even more.

"Look at this picture, he's like Lucas now..."

"Why didn't you just put this up on the big screen?"

"I couldn't sir! I mean look at them, that might have been Lucas and the  
Captain, but now look at them..."

Commander Ford stared at the picture and saw what Ortiz had meant. The  
shock of seeing the Captain sitting there with flukes and stuff had been  
enough of a shock to block out everything else.

The Captain of the seaQuest was sitting on the bottom of the ocean with  
his arms wrapped around his young charge, Lucas Wolenczak, the civilian  
scientist in charge Mammal Engineering.

"What!" This time it came from both the Doctor and the Commander.

"We've got to get there before they disappear again."

"But Jonathan, what if they do run again? Maybe we should send a launch."

"No, no more launches. I'm not taking any further risks with the lives  
of this crew. No one leaves this ship!"

"What about Tony?" Ford ignored the Doctor and moved to the helmsmen. 

"Henderson, get the co-ordinates from Ortiz and take us to the position."

"But Commander," Miguel motioned towards the rolled up picture Ford  
tightly held in his fist.

"They'll hear us coming!" was all he said. The Bridge crew looked at him  
then to Ortiz, it was Henderson who asked the question.

"They, sir?"

"Ortiz, put up the whisker view." Whiskers flashed into position from  
all over the place and the best view came up on the main screen. When it  
did the whole crew broke into wild cheers. It was the Captain and he was  
alive!

"It's the Captain!", "Good god, he's alive!" and various themes on those  
words echoed around the ship, then, just like Ford, they really *saw* them.

Nathan and Lucas had heard the seaQuest coming and after a quiet word had  
decided to wait and see before they left. They rose from the sea-bed into  
the full view of every camera aboard the whiskers and the seaQuest, and  
what a sight they were.

While they had rested and spoken together, they had started to pick over  
the treasure again. Nathan had found something else to wear, it was a  
headpiece, a pale band of flattened gold that snugly fitted about his  
fore-head. It looked very good on him and added another touch of that  
otherness that now surrounded the two merman. 

"Captain Bridger?" Ford's voice was full of amazement, "Captain, is that  
really you?" The radical new look had not been that clear in the photo  
that was now completely crushed in his grip. Was that really the man who  
only hours ago been his close friend? Wendy Smith came up beside Ford and  
gazed at the two strange creatures on the screen.

"Captain, Captain!" neither of the mermen spoke or took any notice of her. 

"Nathan, Lucas?"

"Yes Wendy?" Nathan's voice was soft and slow over the speakers,  
completely different from the voice of Captain Bridger.

"Please Nathan, will you and Lucas come back aboard the seaQuest? Please!"

"But we don't want to," Nathan turned to his young friend, "Do we Lucas?"  
The younger merman's voice was full of laughter as he echoed the older's  
words and he shook his head.

"Don't want to."

"We're having fun," Nathan's reached out and took Lucas' hand.

"Fun!" said the echo as the grip was returned.

"See ya!"

"Bye!"

"Please Nathan, don't go, we've only just found you, we've been awfully  
worried about you."

"You have?" Nathan's voice was surprised.

"Well yes, we have. You see, we thought that Lucas had killed you."

"Lucas wouldn't hurt me, you know that Jonathan. He's a friend." The two  
merman moved a little closer to the seaQuest. "He needed to get me out of  
the launch and into the water or else I really would have died." 

Dr Smith motioned Ford to keep the Captain talking. The more information  
they could get the more it would help them. "What do you mean, died?  
Captain, I don't understand what you're saying!"

The two merman looked at one another and shook their heads.

"I'm sorry Jonathan," now that his voice was serious Dr Smith could tell  
that even Lucas' voice differed. It was older, full of confidence, not  
that the old Lucas had lacked confidence, but this one seemed so very  
*sure* of himself. 

"It's not our secret." The two merman then ignored any try at further  
communication from Ford or Dr Smith. They went back down to the wreck  
that was now below the seaQuest. 

"Secret" muttered Dr Smith as she hit the Communication Board with the  
flat of her hand in frustration, then she and Ford were down beside the  
Bridge Pool.

"Darwin, what did you give them that changed them so?" shot out Ford.

"Gift."

"Can you give this gift to anyone else?"

"All gone!" was Darwin's reply.

"That's it," muttered Ford, reaching out he sealed the Bridge pool from  
the aqua-tunnels.

"Dr Smith, I'm going to empty the tunnels, get down to the catchment area  
and fish out anything that pops to the surface."

"What makes you think that it's in the tunnels?" she asked.

"I have no idea! I'm guessing that something placed in the aqua-tunnel  
close to their quarters could have changed, mutated them so. The old  
Captain and Lucas would never have eaten something, even if given to them  
by Darwin. And you said that there was something wrong with those skin  
samples from Lucas' rejected clothes from the Moon Pool."

"All I said Commander, was that what ever had affected Lucas wasn't  
something I had ever seen before." The Doctor stood there for a second,  
"Do you know, the Captain came to me just before all this started. He had  
an nasty infection on his legs. Legs?" Smith shot of the Bridge faster  
then Ford had ever seen her move before. He shrugged, as long as she had a  
basket at the catchment area to grab anything that came out of the tunnels....

O'Neill broke into his thoughts, "Commander I've got Lieutenant Brodie on  
line, he'll be coming up to dock in 15 minutes. I've told him to wait."  
Tim turned in his seat, "How are we going to get the launch aboard with out  
compromising the hull."

"They're going have to use the emergency hatch, tell Brodie to make the  
fastest...no, let me talk to him." He took a deep breath.

"Jim, are you there? Have you got Wolenczak with you?"  
The voice of Lucas' father broke in before Brodie could answer the question.

"Commander Ford is that you? I demand to know the reason your men  
stormed into my office and kidnapped me at gun point."

"I take it, Lieutenant, that you didn't mention our little trouble?"

"No sir, It was need to know and the Doctor had no need to know."

"Will one of you please tell me what the hell is going on?"

"All right Dr Wolenczak, if you go to the main view port and look down, I  
think you'll see what the problem is." Ford could hear the man in the seat  
next to Brodie get up so that the Doctor could get a better view.

"I'm sure you think this is very funny Commander, but I...."

Ford knew that the man must have seen the two figures that were climbing  
back into sight. He knew that the launch would have brought them up.

"My god, Lucas...."

"The Captain, he's like Lucas now?" 

"Sorry Jim, I didn't have time to warn you."

"They look, strange..." 

"Jim, use the emergency hatch, I don't want to open the seaQuest inner  
hatches unless I need to." Brodie's voice was still dazed but he was  
recovering from the shock.

"Understood Jonathan, docking in five minutes." 

 

Lucas swam up to the launch as it made it's way back to the seaQuest. He  
saw the white face of his father through the view-port.

"Nathan, my father's here!"

"Oh yes," said Nathan as he joined Lucas, "I remember, I sent Brodie off  
to get him when you first changed. I thought I could use him to lure you  
back to the ship."

"Do you think they'll still try?" Lucas waved cheerily at his father.

"Probably, after all, they'll want to find out how we changed and how we  
can survive out here."

"Dissection?" shuddered Lucas.

"Sure, some idiot from up-world will sooner or later come hunting us."

"Should we leave?" Lucas pressed his face up against the cool glass of  
the view-port and watched his father leave the launch to enter the  
seaQuest. Nathan didn't answer that question but asked one of his own.

"Why did they make them use the emergency hatch, instead of opening the  
bay doors." Then Lucas proved that he hadn't lost any of intelligence in  
the change.

"When we come in they want to be able to control the entrance we use,"  
stated Lucas. Grabbing his arm, Nathan left the launch and headed for the  
nearest whisker.

"What are you up to Jonathan," there was almost the old fire back in his  
voice. "What games are you playing?"

"We're not playing any games at all. Listen to me Captain, I've been  
lying to the UEO ever since your supposed death. No one but the crew  
aboard the seaQuest know about Lucas and now your transformation. If there  
is any of the old Nathan Bridger and Lucas Wolenczak left inside the two of  
you, you damn well know that all hell is going to break out as soon as the  
UEO find out what happened." Ford took a deep breath, he had to get  
through to them.

"Tony might only be a man who had surgical implants, but the two off you  
are the real thing, *humanus aquatica*, or whatever you call yourselves,  
you are still going to find yourselves hunted by everyone, from the UEO to  
the lowly marine park. The pair of you are different now and you remember  
how the G.E.L.F's were treated, don't you?"

"You're making an excellent argument for the two of us to just leave, to  
never come back." Lucas reached out and after a second of fumbling, moved  
in under Nathan's protective arm. 

"I hadn't realised..." he murmured, "I suppose I didn't let myself think  
of that."

"Neither of us did," pointed out Nathan, bringing him closer and speaking  
too softly for the microphone's to pick up, "We'll be all right." Nathan  
turned back to the seaQuest.

"So what are proposing Jonathan?" This was it, Ford thought, it had to  
work, it had too!

"I propose that you come aboard, together or one at a time..." Nathan  
and Lucas both broke in, with vehement negatives.

"Listen to me, please," begged Ford. "That you come aboard, together or  
one at a time," he repeated, "and let Dr Smith and her people run a whole  
range of tests on you. Let us gather all the information that we can and  
maybe, just maybe, we can head off the worst of the hunters."

"And what assurances do we have that you'll not try and turn us into  
up-worlders again," shot out Lucas, pulling away from Nathan and getting  
between him and the whisker. "No Nathan! I don't trust them, they'll keep  
us and lock us up and make us prisoners like they've done to Darwin."

Lucas turned to the seaQuest, "Why have you kept Darwin from leaving the  
seaQuest? He's not yours, you have no right to keep him locked up."

"How did you....We kept him at first because we thought that he might  
know something about what happened to you and why, as we first thought, you  
killed the Captain."

"Well I didn't kill Nathan, so you have no right to hold Darwin like that!"

"Lucas, he's the only one who knows what really happened to the two of  
you. I can't let him go."

"See Nathan," begged Lucas, "I told you, they want to take it all away  
from us. Let's get out of here before it's too late."

"They can't hurt us," soothed Nathan. "This is our home," he motioned  
around them to the blue that they swam in, "To them it's an alien place.  
Isn't that right Jonathan?"

Before Ford could answer, Doctor Wolenczak stormed onto the Bridge.

"Okay, Captain high-and-mighty Bridger, just what did you do to my son.  
I have friends in places so high, they would make your nose bleed! Now I  
want my son returned to normal and I want it done now!" 

"Hi, Dad," Lucas waved again as his father's voice exploded around them.

"Please, Doctor," came Ford's voice as he tried to calm the man down.

"Do you think he'll ground me?" joked Lucas as he and Nathan moved  
towards the view-port of the Bridge. The whisker followed after them.  
Lucas' father looked up at the screen and got his first good look at the  
two mermen. The view-port of the launch hadn't shown their full splendour.  
The sapphire and diamond necklace that dripped down to Nathan's waist was  
a King's ransom on it's own. And the ruby on Lucas' chest was...was huge!

 

Wolenczak was putting off looking at the obvious changes to the two of  
them. He felt unable to actually look at what Lucas had become. When he  
had seen him swimming out there that first time Lucas' father had thought  
it some kind of joke, or, or trick, but not for long. His son...his  
beautiful brilliant son wasn't human any-more.

"My son... Lucas what have they done to you?" he whispered achingly.  
"I'll make them pay, don't worry son, I'll figure a way to change you back  
if this lot won't..." 

Lucas broke into his father's babbling. "But, Dad, I don't want to  
change back, I like being like this."

"They brain-washed you, didn't they! That's what they did. Look, don't  
panic," he said, panic in every word he spoke, "you come back on board and  
Daddy will fix everything. Daddy will!" 

Ford shook his head and motioned Piccolo forward, this wasn't helping at  
all. "Take the doctor down to the Sick Bay. Tell Dr Smith he's in shock." 

Before he left, Piccolo leaned forward to speak for Ford's ears alone,  
"Please, Commander, let me go out, maybe I can talk them in."

"Let me think about it, Tony, let me think about it." He slapped the  
seaman on the shoulder and motioned him to take the dazed Wolenczak down to  
Dr Smith.

"This isn't working, is it, Captain," he asked softly, as he moved right  
up to the main view port and looked out at his Captain.

"Not a bit, Jonathan, Lucas and I are happy and nothing you can say or do,  
will make us give up our new life. Nothing." Ford closed his eyes for a  
brief moment, then he leaned over the consul and placed his right hand on  
the cold glass. 

Nathan moved up close, and placed his own hand over Ford's. With an  
inward shock, Ford saw that his hand was webbed, another change, another  
piece for the puzzle.

Nathan took one last long look at his past over Jonathan's shoulder then  
he turned away. A relieved Lucas followed after, and the two mermen swam  
away. Both soon disappeared out of sight and off all the screens and scopes.

"They're gone," Ford let his emotions out for a brief moment before he  
turned back to the crew. Nathan Bridger had always been a hero of his,  
which would have embarrassed the Captain no end if he had ever known, and  
Lucas? Well Lucas had been a younger brother, very much unlike his own  
brother. And he had lost them. Ford knew that there was no way he could  
keep this under wraps any longer. They had kept the secret of Lucas'  
mutation for a long 24 hours and now that the Captain was changed....

"Tim, get me some footage from this last visit of the Captain and Lucas,  
no sound only picture, then get me a patch through to McGath." O'Neill  
nodded, not taking a chance on speaking, he too was fighting to keep his  
emotions under control. Ford left the Bridge and headed for the Ward Room,  
O'Neill put the call through as soon as he called for it.

"Commander Ford," greeted McGath, "any news?"

"Ahhh, sir, I don't know if you would call it news, but I do have  
something I have to show you. I know that you're not going to believe it,  
but what you'll see if true. O'Neill, patch that info through the link."  
Ford sat back and watched McGath's face as he watched the video of Lucas  
and the Captain. 

"I thought you said Nathan was dead? If this is some kind of a joke...."

"God sir, don't you think I wish it was a joke! That was the Captain and  
Lucas. Somehow they were mutated into...that." Ford leaned towards the  
screen, "What I told you 24 hours ago was true...then. Lucas mutated first  
and the Captain went out in a launch to speak to him, to get him to return  
to the seaQuest so that we could help him. When he got out there, Lucas  
attacked the launch and smashed the plasti-glass view port. We thought  
that the change had driven him mad and that he had killed the Captain. I  
didn't tell you the truth because I didn't want to take any chances with  
other peoples lives. You would have come here as soon as you found out the  
truth and for all I knew, Lucas could have attacked your launch and killed  
you too."

"I understand that Commander but why are you telling me now."

"Those pictures you just saw were from only ten minutes ago. We managed  
to pick up their whereabouts with the whiskers and the... mermen," he saw  
McGath wince when he used that word, "The Captain and Lucas came up to talk  
to us. We tried to talk them into returning, we even managed to get Lucas'  
father down here to try and get him to come back."

"Did Wolenczak help at all?"

"I'm sorry to say that the sight of his son part fish and covered in  
jewels didn't really hit him too well. He's down in sick bay under sedation."

"We'll I can understand that. My god man, are you sure that... that  
creature is Nathan Bridger?"

"I'm sure sir, and now I have no idea what to do." McGath came to a  
decision.

"Take command of the seaQuest, Commander and send your co ordinates to  
me, I'm coming down."

"I think it might be better that we surface and you rendezvous with us on  
the surface sir, just in case."

"Yes that would be faster. I'll take a jet-chopper."

After breaking contact with the Secretary General, Tim's voice spoke up,  
"Commander, did your give Piccolo permission to leave the seaQuest?"

"What, of course not." Grabbing up his belt com-link, he hurried towards  
the Bridge talking all the while.

"I told Piccolo I'd think about letting him go after the Captain and Lucas."

"Well sir, Tony's out and heading the general direction they took when  
last seen."

"Damn that kid, I'll have him on a months report for going against my  
orders like this." By then he was at the Bridge and shoving his com-link  
away he strode over to O'Neill's consul. 

"Did he have sense enough to take his communication gear with him?"

"I don't know sir, I'll try to contact him." Tim pressed a few buttons  
and spoke, "Piccolo? Tony are you there?"

"Well hell guys, where else am I going to be?" O'Neill waved an arm and  
Ford moved forward.

"Seaman, if you don't get back here right this instant, you are going to  
spend the rest of your tour in the galley washing pots. Do you understand  
me?"

"Sorry Commander," squeaky noises and other unidentifiable sounds came  
over the link, "I can't make out what you're saying." 

"Listen to me Tony, we have to leave the area, the seaQuest is surfacing  
to pick someone up. You need to get back here." Now spitting noises came  
over the airwaves.

"How can he spit under water?" asked O'Neill. 

Ford knew when he was beaten, he just didn't have to like it. "Ortiz,  
get a whisker on his tail, don't let him lose it. If you need to, make a  
chain of them, I want to now where he goes, understand?

"Understood."

"Henderson, take us up-world. We've got a VIP to pick up."

 

While all this was going on, Dr Smith had started to empty the  
aqua-tunnels. The grids that had been placed over the drains were stopping  
anything but water from leaving the ship. After the water was gone, she  
motioned the two suited up technicians to move forward and collect the  
debris. Following their orders, the men carefully collected everything  
that was on the grid and packed them away in the contamination chest  
standing ready. It was the kind of thing used to protect people from  
radiation and chemical waste. Wendy just hoped it would also protect them  
from what ever had changed the Captain and Lucas.

"That's everything Doctor," reported one of the men as they closed the  
box. Lifting her com-link to her lips, Wendy gave the rest of her orders. 

"You now what to do, I want you to put the decontaminating room on it's  
highest setting and then make sure those suits are completely destroyed.  
Understand?"

"Understood, Doctor." The two men grunted as they carried the box out of  
the maintenance room and down the corridor. Wendy followed after them, the  
Geiger counter in her hand turned on, but other then the normal readings  
from the seaQuest she wasn't picking up a thing.

The men placed the box in the radiation vault, then after sealing it,  
left to get cleaned up. Dr Smith, with her Geiger counter still on,  
entered after they had left. Still nothing of the readings like those she  
had taken off the skin samples from both Lucas and the Captain.

Putting down the Geiger counter, but leaving it turned on, she moved over  
to the radiation manipulation claws and started to work them. Biting her  
lip, she lifted the Geiger counter in the sealed vault and placed it near  
the box. With a deft touch she opened the box and started to lift out the  
things one at a time. As a small pile of roundish water smooth stones  
started to form, very slowly the needle rose, hovered then sunk back down  
again. They were a dirty gray colour, just ordinary stones but as each  
stone piled up, the needle climbed just that little bit higher. 

Picking out the biggest, she took it over to another part of the vault.  
Using the sensors there she tried to see if there was anything in it. It  
was then that she discovered that the stone was a geode. But there were no  
formed crystals inside it. She went back and got another stone, that too  
was a geode and it empty as well. One by one she checked the pile of ten  
stones. All had an empty chamber in the centre. Had there been something  
in the stones? What had it been? How had it got to the Captain and Lucas? 

Sealing the stones back in the box, Wendy picked up her Geiger counter  
and headed for Lucas' then the Captain cabins. Running the Geiger counter  
over the plasti-glass of the aqua-tunnel, she found traces of the same  
radiation. Not much, but enough. Ordering the sealing of both cabins she  
headed for the Bridge to tell the Commander what she had discovered. 

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Tony found himself in the middle of a big ocean, all on his own. He had  
taken it on himself to go after Lucas and the Captain, there was no way he  
was just going to let them run away. It had been Bridger that had shown  
Tony that he was more then just another joe. The Captain had given him a  
chance, had let him prove that he was more then a punk kid from the wrong  
side of town. And now he had to show them that they had too much to offer  
to just pick up and leave.

After he had left the seaQuest, he had passed over the treasure ship but  
had given the thing only a quick look. He was hunting other treasure.  
Seeing movement in front of him Tony accelerated. He knew that there was  
no way he could catch them if they decided to really get away.

"Cap, Captain, Lucas, wait up!" he called out, hoping that they could  
hear him, there was no way to know if they could until he tried.

"Tony?" Lucas turned and saw the seaman swimming towards them. 

"Tony, what are you doing this far from the seaQuest? Don't you know  
just how dangerous these waters are?" By then Nathan had turned back as  
well and the mermen hovered beside the altered human. 

"Lucas is right, Tony, these waters are full of sharks. Don't tell me  
Jonathan sent you after us with just your com-link and suit?"

"Ah no, Cap. I, um, left the seaQuest without permission."

"Tony, Tony." It was like seeing the old Captain Bridger back.  
"Jonathan is going to have a field day when you get back, and you are going  
back, now!"

"Look, Cap, just listen to me." The experimental found himself staring  
at the changed humans. Their mutation had been more then enough to shock  
anyone, even him, but the way they wore those jewels and stuff. They made  
them look even more alien, if that was at all possible.

"So it's your turn now," Nathan reached out and patted him on the  
shoulder. "Nothing you say will get us to change our minds. We don't want  
to go back to being up worlders."

"But, sir," begged Tony, "I understand that. Don't you see." He reached  
down and touched his gills. "I went through my own change to get out of  
the brig, but even if they offered to make me fully human today I'd say no!  
I love this," he waved to the vast blue around them. "There's nothing  
like this up there," he pointed to the far surface, "The whole world is  
covered with man and all the freedom is gone. But here," he stared hard at  
Nathan and then Lucas, "here, it's like the wild west from those old vid's  
or what the ice caps used to look like. On dry land, I'm Seaman Anthony  
Piccolo-experimental, out here I'm an adventurer."

"I didn't know you felt like this, Tony," marvelled Lucas.

"Who was I going to tell? There was no one who had tasted it, who had  
lived it. But now there is." Nathan and Lucas stared at him, it was  
Nathan who spoke, "So what are you trying to say?"

"That maybe you don't have to leave. Look at you, Cap, the two of you  
are a completely new species. I'm altered and I have to go back to land  
sooner or later but from what I've been able to discover, the two of you  
have fully adapted to your life out here."

"Yyyes," mused Lucas, "that's so." He looked across at Nathan, then back  
at Tony. "So you're saying that if we go back, we can make a deal with the  
UEO. Get them to agree to not try and revert us?"

"I think that the top brass might find the two of you a whole lot more  
valuable as you are now, then as you were before. Sorry about that."

"No, no, that's all right," again Nathan patted the seaman on his  
shoulder. "We're going to have to really think about what you said, Tony."

"We really need to speak to Darwin first," pointed out Lucas, "Everything  
we know is a gift and I don't want to say anything that would compromise  
what he's given us."

"Okay, the first thing is the freeing of Darwin, then we talk to him and  
see?" The mermen gazed at one another for a long moment, Tony wondered  
what they saw when they looked at one another. 

"Look, tell Jonathan to wait where he is. Let me and Lucas discuss this  
and we'll let you know what we decide. Can you leave us your com-link? It  
might be a little safer if we don't get too close to the seaQuest." Tony  
unbuckled his communication equipment and handed it to Lucas. 

"Ah Cap, just in case this helps, the Commander was putting a call  
through to Secretary General McGath just before I left, and as I was  
leaving, even though my com-link was acting up, I heard the Commander say  
that they were surfacing to pick up someone."

"Thank you Tony," smiled Nathan, "thank you very much. Return to the  
seaQuest and give them the message, and if the Secretary General happens to  
be in the same room..."

Tony nodded and turned to swim back to the ship, then swung back around,  
"Ah sir, would you know which way the seaQuest is?" Lucas laughed and  
pointed a little to the left of Tony.

"Swim that way, or wait here for about five minutes and you'll meet up  
with a whisker. It seems that Jonathan wasn't taking a chance on losing  
you." Lucas reached out and Tony found himself being hugged by the  
younger... uh... merman. The kid's skin felt smooth and warm to his touch.  
Nathan threw an arm about his waist and hugged the seaman as well. Tony  
was at a loss to understand it, neither had been the hugging kind, but now  
it was as if touch had become another way of communication to them after  
their change.

"Okay sir, kid, I'll just head back and say my bit. See you soon!" Tony  
turned away and headed in the direction Lucas had pointed out and the two  
mermen watched as he disappeared in the haze. 

"What do you think?" asked Lucas, as they turned at right angles of their  
old course and headed out again. No need to take chances. The sand and  
rock passed under them, and they kept watch for sharks as they travelled.

"There are a lot of places in the oceans and seas that we can live in,  
but we'd have to hide or be ready run at any sight of up-worlders." Nathan  
reached out and took Lucas' hand in his, "I think it might be worth our  
while to talk to McGath and just see what happens."

"But no boarding the seaQuest?" stressed Lucas.

"No boarding the seaQuest," agreed Nathan.

When they had almost reached the reef where the grotto was, the two of  
them turned again. Circling around, they followed their original path back  
to the seaQuest, this time moving fast. Skimming through the water at  
speeds they had never thought they could reach, Nathan and Lucas made  
excellent time and reached the sector that the seaQuest had been for the  
last day or so.

"I wonder if my launch has been retrieved?" 

"Now that's one hiding place they wouldn't go looking for us. And the  
metal hull should shield us from the whiskers." Still carrying Tony's  
com-link, the two checked out the area to see if the seaQuest had returned  
from the surface or if their was any whiskers in the area. Neither were  
around, so the mermen entered the launch and looked around. Some of the  
sealed consuls still had power, which would help a great deal in shielding  
them from the seaQuest's sensors. The two merman made themselves as  
comfortable as possible.

Sitting side by side, their flukes overlapping, the two sat there. They  
had no need to talk, to make a noise. Both were right where they wanted to  
be, and with whom they wanted to be with. Lucas sighed a little and  
snuggled closer.

"I wish we'd brought some of that fruit with us, I'm getting hungry  
again." Nathan lifted his arm, to let Lucas get a little closer.

"Yes," murmured Nathan, letting his head rest against Lucas' blonde  
thatch. Their tails lifted and Nathan let his curve around his friends.  
Lucas sighed again and Nathan sat there, enjoying the moment, trying to  
remember the last time he had just let himself feel this way.

A little while later they heard the seaQuest returning, but neither moved  
from their position. Tony would have told them that he had given them his  
com-link, all they had to do is wait for Jonathan to call them. 

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

"Are you saying, Doctor, that something in those stones, those geode  
things you showed us, managed to get out and somehow mutate Nathan and the  
Wolenczak boy?" 

"I know it sounds strange when you say it like that sir, but it's the  
only thing we've managed to come up with. There are traces of the same  
radiation in the aqua-tunnels beside their quarters, no where else on the  
ship, so far, has show any of the same readings. They must have been the  
catalyst that mutated them so." 

"Any idea what was in them?"

"In normal geode's there's crystal, but when I opened one of the stones  
there was no physical proof that there had been any formation of crystals  
at all." Wendy rubbed her hands up and down her arms, it felt like there  
was a chill in the air. Chill, quickly she turned around and faced the  
Bridge pool. Darwin stared out at her.

"Darwin!" she muttered, "Darwin, for once and all will you tell us what  
was in those stones you brought on board?"

"Gift. Surprise for Lucas and Nathan."

"Nathan? Didn't he always call the Captain by his surname, Bridger,"  
queried Ford.

"But that's not Bridger any-more, is it Darwin?"

"Lucas and Nathan happy, have fun."

"That's all we've been able to get out of him sir, over and over. Just  
that the two of them are having fun."

"Commander Ford," Brodie's voice came over the com-link. Reaching for  
his, Ford told him to go ahead. 

"I've got Piccolo sir, he's under guard on C deck. He says that he's got  
a message from the Captain."

"Bring him to the Ward Room immediately." He broke contact and motioned  
the Secretary General to follow him. After the three left the Bridge,  
Darwin turned around and followed them to the Ward Room through his  
aqua-tunnels.

It was Dr Smith who pointed out that Darwin had followed them.

"Can't you keep him locked in that Moon Pool place?"

"We're keeping him shut aboard the seaQuest as it is sir, I doubt that  
we'll get his co-operation by locking him up in an even smaller place."

Piccolo was accompanied into the room by Brodie, the other two guards  
waited outside the room. 

"Hey, why the escort sir?" Always the smart mouth. 

"Shut up Tony and tell me why you disobeyed my direct order and left the  
seaQuest?"

"Look sir, I figured that I'd have the best chance of talking to them,  
you know, one fish to another," Piccolo pointed at his gills. "I now what  
they are feeling. I was just the same the first time I went deep with my  
gills. Sir, there's nothing in the world like the feel of that cool blue  
water rushing around you." 

Ford and Smith stared at the seaman in front of them, they had never  
heard Tony Piccolo passionate about anything like this, other then girls of  
course.

"And did you managed to reach them, seaman?" asked the Secretary General.

"Yes sir!" shot out Piccolo. "I managed to catch up to them and we  
talked for a little while. They won't come aboard the seaQuest because  
they know you guys are going to try and revert them...." Both Ford and  
Smith reacted to this, but it was the Doctor who got the words out first,  
"Of course we're going to try to revert them. They're human beings, they  
weren't meant to be like that."

"Hey Doc, you're talking to the wrong guy about that, all I'm telling you  
that what ever they were before, they aren't any-more."

"What are you talking about, man? He might look different, but that was  
Nathan Bridger I saw in those vids," blurted the Secretary General.

"They're adapting at an amazing rate, sir. Those two are as much at home  
out there now as, as," Tony pointed at the staring dolphin, "as Darwin is."  
Tony looked around at the faces staring at him, "When I caught up to them,  
they were well away from the seaQuest, and any other kind of dry land. Now  
I've had my gills for a long time and I've been to a lot of different  
places out there, but even I was scared silly being that far out. Neither  
one of those guys showed one shred of alarm at being that far out and that  
far down. It was like they were standing in a park talking to me, and in a  
way, to them, they were. They are completely at home out there. One  
hundred percent at home. Look," Tony pointed to Darwin and when the  
others turned they could see the dolphin nodding, "Darwin agrees." The  
silence got a little thick then, until Tony spoke again.

"Ah, Doc, Commander, before you go on with any plans, the Captain said  
that they wanted Darwin out of the seaQuest before they would talk to you.  
Something about asking permission before they said too much." At that  
Darwin started to spin in the aqua-tunnel.

Brodie stood in the corner listening in, he spoke before any more could  
be said, "Uh, Commander, Mr Secretary, I really do think that Dr Wolenczak  
should be in on anything that's to do with his son." The Secretary General  
nodded.

"Quite right, Lieutenant. Dr Smith, is he well enough to discuss this?"

"I really can't tell sir, it was the shock of seeing Lucas like that  
caused the trouble in the first place. He's a strong minded man, by now he  
should have taken in the reality of the situation. By all means, let's  
include him in this."

"Lieutenant, you go down to the cabin he was given and ask him if he'd  
like to come to this meeting."

"Yes sir," saluted Brodie, who quickly left the room.

"Are you going to free the dolphin?" asked McGath.

"I have no idea," Ford rubbed his forehead, he was getting a whopper of a  
headache.

"When you want to talk to them sir, all you need to do is use the  
com-link, I gave them mine before coming back here."

"Are you sure it works?" the sarcasm was strong in Ford's voice, but Tony  
didn't even blink. 

After that Ford sent Tony away, telling him that he was confined to his  
quarters until further notice. Tony shrugged, at least it wasn't the  
galley. 

When Tony reached his cabin, he found the quarantine tape the Doctor had  
placed over it. Pulling it down, he rolled it in a tight ball and lobed it  
in the corner. Slamming the door behind him, Tony jumped down the stairs  
and looked around the room. Over half of it was filled with Lucas'  
computer stuff. Shaking his head, he climbed into the top bunk. Well the  
kid wasn't ever going to be using either so far as he could see.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Jonathan sat there, staring at the Ward Room wall across from him. The  
four of them, he, Smith, Wolenczak and the Secretary General had spent the  
last two hours, arguing back and forth about what they should do. 

Lucas' Dad wanted everything done to return his son to normal, pointing  
out that Lucas was a minor and was really too young to now what was good  
for him. Ford shut him up by pointing that he hadn't thought Lucas too  
young to serve aboard the seaQuest.

Smith was all for that and for trying to discover what had really changed  
the Captain and Lucas in the first place. Ford could tell that McGath had  
been thinking about what Piccolo had said in his report. If the mermen  
could be bought under the aegis of the UEO, the two of them could do a lot  
of good, for the oceans, and him. The Commander could almost see his mind  
working at these thoughts. And Ford, he just wanted the nightmare over and  
done with. He wanted to fall into his bunk, then wake up in the morning  
and find out that the whole thing was some damned fantasy that his mind had  
made up!

 

While the endless meetings and talking to top-side were going on, the  
ship crew, of course, knew everything that was going on. Secrecy was an  
unknown word on a submersible, especially when it has to do with a could-be  
quarantine. 

"Quarantine? Do you really think it'll go that far?" asked Tim.

"I kinda a choked on the word 'contagious' myself," muttered Miguel.

"Do you think it'll happen to the rest of us?" asked Lonnie without  
looking at the two men.

"That's what the Doc's trying to find out," pointed out Tim. Miguel  
rubbed his hands up and down his legs. Wondering if he was just imagining  
the sudden urge he had to scratch his knee.

"They looked beautiful though, didn't they," Lonnie's voice held a kind  
of wonder in it. "I mean, when you read stories about mermaids and stuff  
you imagine them one way, but to actually see the real thing. I wonder  
what's it like?" 

"Lonnie!"

"Ah go on Tim, don't tell me that you aren't just a little curious about  
the whole thing. I mean they've given up their whole lives to live like  
that," she pointed at the hull of the seaQuest. "The Captain, Lucas.  
Everything. It must be wonderful," she said in a dreamy kind of voice.

"Maybe you should go do to the sick bay and get the Doc to check you out,  
just in case..."

"Timothy O'Neill, you have no romance in your soul!"

"What's romance got to do with it?" asked the Communication Officer. 

Miguel was sweating now, which only made the urge to scratch worst. He  
was remembering that scene he'd picked up with his whisker, he knew what  
kind of changes those two had gone through and he didn't want it to happen  
to him. 

The Captain and Lucas had been close while they had been aboard the  
seaQuest, but not that close. The rumour mill that thrived in the ship's  
environment would have certainly picked up something if that kind of thing  
had been happening. So it must have happened out *there*, because of the  
change. Miguel chewed a knuckle, part of him wanted to go and see the Doc,  
and part of him was too scared of what she might say, so he sat there and  
listened to O'Neill and Henderson argue.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Wendy rubbed her eyes for the thousand time and tried to focus on the  
slide in the microscope. The meeting had broken up from sheer exhaustion  
in the end. Things were being said that never should have been said, so in  
the end Ford had told everyone to get some sleep. But she'd found that  
even though she was as exhausted as the others, her mind just wouldn't  
completely shut down. But now as she sat in her lab Wendy found that it  
was no good, she wasn't getting a thing done. Maybe if she tried for a  
quick cat-nap. Hooking her feet around the bar on her stool, she rested  
her chin on her hand and closed her eyes. She'd become pretty good at this  
at med school, so she let her mind drift and slowly fell asleep.

 

*His hair flowed around his neck and shoulders, tugged by the currents.  
Had Lucas' hair been that long before the change? She couldn't really  
remember. And Nathan's beard, had it always been that soft looking and  
full, or was it just the loss of the grey that made it look so? They  
hovered in the water in front of her, just beyond her outstretched fingers.

"Come on out and play." Were those words or just the murmur of the water  
against the EVA suit she wore. Lucas came up close to her, his smile was  
as beautiful as she remembered. 

"Come." This time she was sure it was Lucas' voice, but she didn't see  
his lips move. His hand reached out and lightly grasped her arm and  
suddenly, as can happen in dreams, her EVA suit was gone and she was  
swimming beside Lucas and Nathan. Laughing at all the silly jokes and  
chasing Darwin....*

 

Her face hit the table with a bruising force as her chin slid off her  
hand. "God," she rubbed her face with her hand and felt the sweat on her  
forehead, that dream had felt frightening real. Too real. Climbing off  
her stool, she quickly pealed of her panty-hose and tried to get a good  
look at her legs. She hadn't had the itch, but all she had to go on was  
the Captain's complaint, Lucas had never said anything at all about an  
itching. Without bothering about her shoes, she headed for the showers.  
There were full length mirrors in there and she could see better.

Panic was a thing that was very contagious, even to the strong willed.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Nathan lifted the sleeping Lucas, the younger merman had tried to stay  
awake as they waited for the call from the seaQuest but he was exhausted.  
Nathan knew that he too should get some sleep or else he'd be too tired to  
be of any use at the talks. Sliding down a little more until he was  
stretched out on the floor, Nathan placed Lucas beside him. As Lucas  
mumbled something in his sleep, he smiled and brushed the blonde hair away  
from the youths forehead. Then gathering him in his arms, Nathan lay there,  
willing himself to sleep, letting Lucas' heartbeat be his lullaby. 

A noise woke Nathan up, a noise from a almost forgotten past. The  
com-link that Tony had given him had been activated. He knew that it was  
morning before he opened his eyes, even in the ruined launch the water felt  
different during the day. He slowly sat up, being careful of Lucas, who  
appeared to still be asleep beside him.

"Hmmm, Nathan?" the merman turned towards Nathan, his hand reaching out  
to touch the warmth beside him.

"What is it?" he mumbled as he curled closer to his lover. Nathan  
gathered him closer, letting his hands re discover the contours of Lucas'  
back and shoulders.

Lucas sighed again, "Well, are you going to answer them?"

"In a minute," murmured Nathan, as he lowered himself back down, "in a  
minute." 

Lucas had woken from a awesome dream and discovered that it hadn't been a  
dream at all. Nathan's beard felt wonderful as the older merman stroked it  
against his neck and chest, and his lips made the blood in Lucas body rush  
to the surface, causing him to blush with a rosy tint. Nathan followed the  
blush as it made it's way up Lucas' chest and over his features. His  
tongue made forays into the shells of Lucas' ears, making the young merman  
open his eyes in a kind of shock with the feeling of it. 

When they had made love out on the reef, the two of them had felt the  
*want* to unite, the *need* do what they had always wished to do, to be  
*together*. 

But this now...Lucas could feel a hunger clawing at him, and he reached  
out and grabbed Nathan, his hands pulling the older merman away from his  
enjoyment. Lucas looked into the warm eyes of the one person who had  
always wanted the best for him. Holding Nathan like that, Lucas leaned  
forward and touched lips with him for the first time. He felt the breath  
leave Nathan's chest, but the older merman didn't move an inch, only closed  
his eyes. Lucas kept his open as he did it again, just a soft touch, lips  
on lips. Pulling back, Lucas let his gaze move from the closed eyes to the  
slightly parted lips of his lover, then he smiled and pulled Nathan into a  
powerful embrace and kissed him passionately, deeply, without thought or  
reason. Nathan returned the embrace, his arms crushing the youth close,  
until the two had entwined again. 

They lay there, chests heaving each time they broke from the seemingly  
endless kissing. Hands smoothed hair; blonde and brown, fingers touched  
and lips caressed and eyes smiled. Suddenly the gentle touch wasn't  
enough, it seemed as if a switch had been thrown at the same time in the  
both of them. Without further thought the kisses got harder, teeth nipped,  
and hands bruised. Nathan towered over Lucas, letting him feel the  
heaviness and strength of his body as he crushed the youth under him. His  
tail thrashed and weaved until it was able to get under Lucas' and he was  
able to thrust with all his hunger.

And Nathan and Lucas made love to the sounds of the com-link from the  
seaQuest beeping. 

Nathan discovered his voice, but found he could only speak into the  
smooth chest he was laying against, "I'm sorry about that Lucas, it got a  
little rough...."

Lucas' hand rubbed the back of Nathan's neck, his fingers soft and  
soothing to the worried merman. "Nathan, it was wonderful, even better then  
the first time." His hands stroked down the sleek back as far as he could  
reach, then curled back under Nathan's arms. Lucas lifted him so that he  
could see into his eyes, and reaching out, he smoothed away the lines of  
worry on his lover's forehead. "I only wish we could start all over again,"  
he nodded at the still beeping com-link.

"Lucky the thing wasn't turned on...." grumbled Nathan as he left the  
warm body beneath him. Lucas laughed as he sat upright, he ran his fingers  
through his hair, then gave up. Nathan had reached for the com-link and  
switched it on.

"Hello, seaQuest?"

"Captain, is that you?"

"Jonathan, please, call me Nathan." Nathan reached out and messed up the  
hair Lucas had just tidied. The youth poked out his tongue and Nathan  
leaned forward and put it back were it belonged.

"Captain! Captain?" 

Nathan got his breath back and found his voice, "Ah yes, Jonathan, will  
you let us talk to Bill, or are you going to be tiresome about the whole  
thing?" Lucas snuggled up beside his lover and let his fingers walk up his  
chest. One of the hands found a nipple and started to explore it until  
Nathan pulled it away. 

"Later," he mouthed and smiled at Lucas' pout. 

"The Secretary General will speak to you, but he wanted it to be face to  
face as it were."

"We're not coming onto the seaQuest!" Lucas grabbed Nathan's hand and  
spoke into the com-link.

"Yes, we got your message from Piccolo and I can understand your  
reservation about returning, but can you at least swim out into sight of  
our whiskers?" Lucas was shaking his head, so Nathan said, "Let us discuss  
this, Jonathan, I'll call back in a little while." Nathan broke contact,  
putting the com-link on a handy shelf by his shoulder. "We're going to have  
to get close to them sooner or later."

"I know," muttered Lucas, "It's just that I don't trust them not to take  
at least a shot of trying to reverse us." Nathan took Lucas' shoulders in  
a firm grip and smiled into his eyes.

"Darwin gave us a gift, and *no one* can take this gift away, you know  
that." Lucas avoided Nathan's gaze and gently clasped his lover's wrists. 

"I know that, but a part of me is worried. Don't you see, I'm so happy  
that I keep waiting for something to go wrong, the other shoe to drop!"  
Nathan gathered him close.

"Yes I can understand that, I feel the same way, but you've got to get  
past that. This is us now, forever. Now come on, I need you, we're going  
to have to work together on this to get it right." Nathan picked up the  
com-link and switched it on.

"Jonathan? Are you still there?"

"Captain, yes. I'm here and so is Secretary General McGath." Nathan  
covered the microphone and smiled across at Lucas, "It sounds like it's  
going to be formal."

"Well it's lucky the two of us are dressed for it," pointed out Lucas as  
he touched his and then Nathan's decorations. 

"Is the seaQuest in the same position that she had held during Lucas'  
change?"

"Yes Captain we're in exactly the same spot."

"Good, Lucas and I are coming to meet you." Reaching out his hand to  
Lucas, who took it, Nathan then turned and exited the launch. Swimming  
together, they surged toward the far ship. A whisker met them before they  
were even half way there. Lucas reached out and touched the thing.

"You know, I've never been this close to one of these before," murmured  
the youth.

"Never had a need to," replied Nathan.

"True." The two mermen moved closer until they were at least twenty feet  
from the seaQuest. They could see faces pressed up against most of the  
view-ports on the side of the ship. 

"Ah, Nathan," came McGath's voice, "it's good to see you."

"Bill, I'd say the same if I could. Okay, Jonathan, Bill, we're here."

"Nathan, seaman Piccolo told us of the discussion the two of you had.  
Now I think that the UEO *can* come to an agreement with you and the  
Wolenczak boy." 

Nathan broke in, "His name is Lucas, Bill."

"Lucas then, and, Nathan, the only worry the UEO have is that maybe what  
happened to you is contagious so the only thing in the way is the  
unwillingness of the two of you to be examined." 

Lucas exploded, "I told you, they're still trying to trick us, come on,  
let's get out of here." Pulling the com-link from Nathan's hand, Lucas  
dropped it and started to tug at the older merman's arm. "Let's go!"

"Nathan, Lucas, listen," one of the whiskers popped up in front of them.  
"We knew that the two of you were wary of coming onto the seaQuest, so Dr  
Smith has agreed to come out to you." That halted Lucas, and had the two  
mermen turning back to the ship. 

"How is that going to get a examination done?" 

Wendy's voice echoed around them from the various whiskers, "If I come  
out in an EVA suit, carrying my gear, can you take me to some place on the  
surface where I can do tests?"

"Sure," shrugged Lucas, "but I still don't trust you."

"Lucas, knowledge is understanding, Darwin has said over and over that  
the two of you can't be reverted and as he's the one who changed you in the  
first place... Now what we need to know now is if this change is  
infectious." Nathan and Lucas put their heads together and spoke too  
softly for the whiskers.

"Send Darwin out," ordered Nathan, "neither of us will do a thing unless  
you do that."

"Okay sir," came Ford's voice, "I'm opening the sea doors now. A flash  
of movement and Darwin was beside the two merman. The three seemed to  
dance together in welcome. Hands slid across fins and beak nuzzled against  
necks, skin against skin and the three conversed.

Lucas was smiling as he turned back to the seaQuest, "We agree, Nathan  
and I will let Wendy examine us as long as the seaQuest doesn't send  
anything to try and take us back." Darwin peeled of from the two mermen,  
and disappeared into the haze. Nathan went on speaking as Lucas dived  
downwards, "We'll get Tony's com-link, and when you're ready, call us."  
Then he followed after the younger merman.

Standing on the Bridge, Smith shook her head. Lucas had dropped that  
com-link without taking any notice of where it had landed. Even the  
seaQuest with all her sensors would have a hard time finding it. Turning  
away with a sigh, Smith made her way to the sick bay, trying to figure out  
what equipment she could take with her that would take the best readings.  
No one had bothered to close the sea doors after Darwin had left, after all  
Lucas and Nathan had said again and again that they were not coming aboard  
the seaQuest.

Ford stood beside McGath, the two of them going over the offers that the  
other UEO top brass had come up with. The need for what Nathan and Lucas  
could offer was enormous. Not even the smallest and most advanced vehicles  
could go places that those two could, and stay down for long periods.  
Investigation and exploration were on top of the bill, with rescue and  
recovery a close second. Now that he was into the swing of things, the  
Secretary General was going to pull out all the stops and make sure that  
the UEO got the full co-operation of these new beings. 

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

*It was the first time he'd been allowed to swim free in the deep blue. The  
medical staff had finally given permission for him to try real swimming.  
Oh, they'd tried him out in pools and tanks but now he was in the real thing.

Suddenly he found himself hovering over the edge of the reef, where the  
water plunged straight down to hundreds, perhaps thousands of feet. Blue  
was all around him, and the only thing he could hear was the thumping of  
his heart. He saw that the reef ended right in front of him. Looking  
down, there was nothing but a haze, hiding all the mysteries of the deep.  
They had given him freedom and he took it in both hands. Without looking  
back, he started to descend towards those mysteries, with his heartbeat  
echoing in his ears...* 

 

Struggling with the sheet, Tony opened his eyes and saw Darwin thumping  
against the plasti-glass. Fumbling beside the pillow, Tony pulled out the  
vocorder that was still there from the last time Lucas had used it. He  
flicked it on and Darwin's voice filled the cabin.

"Tony, Tony come! Darwin need Tony, now!"

"Isn't it a bit late for walkies?"

"Darwin need Tony now!" repeated the dolphin.

"Okay, okay... No wonder the kid never got much sleep, sheesh."  
Twisting around, Tony jumped off the top bunk, stumbling a little when he  
landed. 

"Legs must be feeling the strain from all that swimming when I chased  
those two," muttered Tony. Wincing a little as he went, Tony made his way  
to the Moon Pool. There wasn't anyone on duty, unknown to Tony everyone  
was at viewpoints, watching the Captain and Lucas. Striding over to the  
pool, Tony leaned against the edge and stroked Darwin.

"What's the matter fella? Missing someone to talk to? Well don't worry,  
the brass'll probably let you out tomorrow."

"Darwin been out, talked to Lucas and Nathan. Darwin need Tony, help  
Darwin..." the rest of what the dolphin said didn't translate through the  
vocorder and all Tony got was squawks and whistles.

"Sorry boy, I didn't understand a word of that." Darwin gave Tony a face  
full of water.

"Darwin need help, help others, help Nathan and Lucas!" Then Tony heard  
voices coming towards them and Darwin dove down out of sight. The crew  
that manned the Moon Pool wandered back in and none of them was too  
surprised to see him. 

"Hey, Tony, did you see them, they were right outside. The two of them  
got really close."

"The Captain and Lucas?"

"Yeah," said another technician, "It was incredible."

"So what's going on?"

"Dr Smith is going out with the two of them, to examine them some place  
up-world to see if they're infectious. Then I guess the Captain and Lucas  
are going to probably come back." The guys went back to work and Tony  
leaned against the edge of the Moon Pool, was this what Darwin had meant?  
Was the examination of the Captain and Lucas something else?

Darwin watched as Tony headed out of the Moon Pool room, then went back  
out the sea doors. He was going to watch the seaQuest from the outside,  
and now they had a watcher on the inside.

Heading back to his cabin, Tony thought about what Darwin had said. The  
gear that Lucas had left behind was still connected to all functions  
on-board the seaQuest and Tony had learnt a lot by looking over Lucas'  
shoulder. It didn't take him long to find the security camera data on the  
net and he played back what was said during the meeting he had slept  
through. It all seemed above board. It was then he noticed that Lucas'  
father wasn't on the Bridge. Wouldn't he have as much to say as the  
others? Lucas was his son after all even though the idiot only seemed to  
remember when he wanted something. Using the security cameras, Tony  
started looking for the older Wolenczak. He found him in the sick bay  
talking to Dr Smith. Hitting the sound button, Tony listened in;

"Look, Smith, that's my son out there and I want your assurances that  
you'll at least try to change him back to normal." From the look on the  
Doctor's face Tony could tell that this argument had been going on for  
quite some time.

"Listen to me, Wolenczak, I have absolutely no idea what changed them in  
the first place.."

"I thought you said it was something in those geodes?"

"Yes, but what? Those things were empty when I opened them. There was  
no evidence that anything had formed in those geodes since their creation  
millions of years ago. All I found was a slight radiation signature, which  
could just as well as come from the outer casings past whereabouts then  
their interior." Wolenczak ran his hands through his hair, "I love that  
boy, and I want him to be normal again. And what the hell am I going to  
tell his mother?" 

Smith reached out and touched the man's shoulder, "You know very well  
that Lucas was never one for normal."

"This isn't a joke," he snarled back.

"I know, but *it is* reality." 

Tony watched as Smith watched the angry man leave the sick bay, then he  
watched her go back to packing some gear. Hitting a couple of buttons,  
Tony watched as Lucas' father headed for the launch bay, then he sighed in  
relief when he saw one of Brodie's men right behind him. And Tony sat  
there and watched the interior of the seaQuest, flashing all over the ship  
with the security cameras.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Nathan spiralled downwards, watching Lucas as he searched for the  
discarded com-link. Just as he reached bottom, the youth held it up in  
triumph. Handing it to Nathan, Lucas slipped over on his back, letting the  
current carry him towards his lover. 

"I'm hungry."

"Are you now?" 

Lucas slapped his hand away with a laugh, "You know very well what I  
meant." Nathan laughed as well, and the two swam hand in hand to a weed  
bed in the distance. Looking back at the seaQuest hulking behind them,  
Lucas asked, "Should we get this far away from them?"

"Darwin's back there, and he'd have spoken to Tony by now so don't  
worry." They swam into the weed bed, which not only fed them but also hid  
them from any whisker that might be following them. As soon as they were  
deep enough, Lucas swung Nathan around until he was resting against the  
cool jewels on his lovers chest. His finger again found the hidden nipple  
amongst the sapphires and diamonds.

"You did say later, didn't you?" With a weary sigh that was a complete  
act, Nathan pulled Lucas into his arms and the two settled on the seabed  
under the leaves of the brown flowing weed above them. 

They knew one another well by now and the original hunger that had  
controlled their love making was now under their control. They let  
themselves be mellowed by the gentle movement of the weeds. Nathan lay  
back, one hand beneath his head, the other holding a sea fruit as the  
younger merman's palms skimmed slowly across his jewelled chest. Then the  
hands curved down to cup Nathan's waist, then back to rub against the  
washboard stomach. Nathan closed his eyes as Lucas reached down and slowly  
smoothed gentle and fleeting fingers across his genital and anal slits.  
Then the hands moved further down, towards the fluke. By then the young  
merman was laying on his side and his own fluke was resting by Nathan's  
shoulders. So as Lucas touched and teased, Nathan returned his advances.

Nathan felt the hunger start to rise in him as he watched and felt Lucas'  
gentle touch. In his later years he had lost much of the hunger of the  
body, but with his change he knew that what he had felt when he was younger  
was nothing like the hunger he felt as he looked at the youth that lay  
beside him under the sea. 

"Come back up here you," he murmured as he tugged on the youth's fluke.  
And when Lucas saw the look in his eyes, he gladly left his teasing and  
reached for the outstretched arms. Every-time he went into Nathan's  
embrace, he felt as if he was coming home, as if he'd been waiting all his  
life for just this. His lips welcomed Nathan's and they lost themselves in  
another kind of exploration of their bodies. 

 

The slow return of reality came to Lucas as he lay with his head against  
Nathan's stomach, his hands slowly rubbing the older merman's flanks.

"Nathan," he murmured, "Why are we really letting Wendy examine us?"  
Nathan laughter echoed under Lucas' ear.

"Can't get anything past you, can I?" he said kissing the blonde thatch.  
"Partly because of what they said, about letting them discover that we  
aren't carrying some kind of bug but mostly because I want Wendy to know  
all there is to know about us." Lucas rolled off Nathan and sat up,  
staring at him in disbelief.

"Everything?"

"Well, maybe not everything," he replied, laying his hand on the youths  
smooth cheek. "But enough so that if anything happens we'll have back-up  
ready for us. We have no doctors to go to now, or hospitals. If they had  
used that argument on us, I would have agreed to anything they said,"  
Nathan rested his hand on Lucas neck, his fingers rubbing slightly, "But  
this way they get what they want and we get what we want." Lucas sat there  
looking at Nathan, thinking about what he said.

"Yes, I can see what you're talking about. God only knows what I'd do if  
anything happened to you!"

"And me, you," agreed Nathan, "but as long as they see that there is no  
reverting us willing or otherwise..." Nathan shrugged. They stayed in the  
weed, eating and resting in each others arms while they waited for the  
com-link at Nathan's waist to call them back to the seaQuest. When the  
call did come, the beeping made the two of them jump.

"Lucky they didn't do that a little while ago," chuckled Nathan as he  
reached for it.

"Yes, Jonathan?"

"The Doctor is ready, Captain. She's waiting at the Moon Pool doors for  
you."

"Thank you, Jonathan, we'll be right there." Putting away the com-link,  
the two merman swam up out of the wee forest and headed back to the hulking  
presence of the seaQuest.

"She's beautiful, isn't she," pointed out Nathan. At Lucas' concerned  
look Nathan laughed, "Don't worry, all I'm saying is that she's a beautiful  
piece of work. Not that I want to go back to being her Captain." Lucas  
sighed in relief but Nathan went on, "You're going to have to try and lose  
that feeling you've got that something is just waiting to tear all this  
away from us." Lucas couldn't answer this as by then they had reached the  
vicinity of the open sea doors. They saw a suited figure step out of the  
doors and make it's human way towards them. In her hand was a long  
waterproof case.

Wendy floated there, as she had removed the weights from her EVA suit,  
all that was keeping her down was the weight of the case. On the shoulders  
of the EVA suit were two brackets that could be used to connect cables to,  
to help lift a diver out of the water in the heavy suit. Nathan moved  
forward and reached for one, while Lucas reached for the other. 

The mermen could see her features through the face-plate of the suit and  
both of them could see the shock she was feeling at really seeing them the  
first time. 

"Wendy?" 

The head nodded and her voice came over the com-link at Nathan's waist,  
"Yes Nathan?"

"Lucas and I will be going very fast and I don't want you to be worried  
by it, understand?"

"Understood." Nathan raised his voice, "Jonathan?"

"Yes Captain?"

"I don't know if you've got a homing beacon on Wendy's suit but I can  
tell you that the instant it is activated we *will* know. And if anything  
remotely resembling a recovery craft is sent after us, we'll leave the good  
doctor on dry land and then we're gone. Understand?" 

"Yes sir, I understand."

"Good, let's go." The two burdened merman gently turned around and then  
started to gather speed. They had earlier agreed to head for an atoll that  
was near the grotto that Lucas had taken Nathan to, to ease his change. 

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

The sun was shinning on the white sand around them and the two merman  
watched as Wendy removed her EVA suit and carefully placed it well past the  
high water mark. When she came back to the water she found them in shallow  
water, belly to the sand, elbows resting on the crisp whiteness and chins  
in hands. She stood there for a second, surprised at the size of them.  
While she'd been wearing the suit she hadn't realised just how  
much...taller or should she say longer, the two of them now were. It was  
also then that she noticed that their flukes were much bigger in proportion  
then those of dolphins or porpoises. The width of their flukes was easily  
that of their shoulders. And while Nathan seemed to have grown younger,  
back to being a man in his prime, Lucas had aged just that little bit to  
make him more a man then the boy he had been before the change. 

So as the two merman lay in the sunlight, Wendy pulled out the old tape  
measure and got down to business. Once, when she was running her hands  
down Lucas' tail and across his fluke, he threw a tortured look across to  
Nathan, who only laughed back at him. It was lucky that the two of them  
were laying belly down as memories of their last love making came quickly  
to the surface. Wendy was too engrossed in what she was doing to take much  
notice of what was going on around them until a wave bigger then the others  
almost swamped her. It was then that she saw that it was well past midday.

"Wendy, do you mind if Lucas and I go and get wet a little, and maybe get  
something to eat?"

"I'm sorry, Nathan, I completely lost track of the time. Yes, you two go  
and do whatever. Ah, can you bring me some of what ever it is you eat."  
Nathan nodded and he and Lucas twisted around in the rising water, waiting  
until a large wave hit, then curled back out. Riding that wave, the two  
merman were soon out of sight under the surface. 

Wendy went back to her case and pulled out a bottle of fresh water.  
Taking a drink, she shaded her eyes as she stared out to sea. She'd been  
too busy before to notice, but the atoll they had brought her to was  
exquisite. White coral sand, clear water that did nothing in hiding the  
abundance of life or the outcrops of coral. Suddenly something broke the  
surface of the water and Wendy got her first view of a merman breaching.  
Nathan erupted out of the water with Lucas close behind him. Twisting in  
the air, they hit the water with a loud thud. She could hear the laughter  
even from where she stood. Dropping the water bottle back into the case,  
she used her hands to shade her eyes against the sunlight, and wishing all  
the time for a camera, she stood mesmerised, as the two played in front of  
her. 

When they finally disappeared and didn't come up again, Wendy sat down on  
the warm sand, exhausted by the show. That had been the most moving thing  
she had seen since the first time she had watched whales breaching years  
ago. After a little while, she pulled a hat out of her case and plopped it  
on her head. The warmth was putting her in a daze, when Nathan's voice  
called to her. As her head snapped up, and she stared across to the two  
mermen waiting for her, the dream from the night before came back to her.  
She had dreamt of swimming with Lucas and Nathan, and then she had done  
that very thing. 

While she had examined them earlier, she'd made a point to stay out of  
their minds. They had shown that they were forming a kind of mental  
ability and she didn't want to push the trust they were forming to much,  
had she picked up the plans they had been making?

The two were laughing as she came back down the beach, they were laying  
on their sides, facing one another. Lucas lay with a hand resting on his  
hip, while Nathan was holding a couple of round things in his hands. 

"You've changed so much," she murmured to herself, not meaning them to  
hear, but Lucas turned his face upwards and she was struck by the beauty of  
the pose as he spoke. 

"Oh, you've noticed."

Before sitting down between them, she accepted the fruit Nathan gave her  
and quickly placed it in the case. The warm water lapped at her legs and  
the sun sparkled of the clear water all around them. 

"No, I meant that you are changed up here," she tapped Lucas' forehead  
and then Nathan's. "Do mind if I try to scan you?"

"No, go ahead," said Nathan, as he returned to the old belly down  
position, Lucas did the same. Wendy took their hands in hers and tried to  
link. All was calm, there was none of the turmoil that she would normally  
pick up from human thoughts.

"But neither of us are human any longer." She stared at Lucas, the youth  
had picked that thought right out of her mind.

"How? Are you psychic as well?" The two shrugged.

"You're the one doing the tests, Wendy." After that she got nowhere with  
her questions so she went back to her tests. She took hair and blood  
samples, also skin samples from the two different body areas. When she  
held up some small bottles, the two shook their heads.

"Sorry Wendy, you should have said something before we went out." She  
shrugged, the samples she had would take time to analyse, she could wait to  
take more later.

"I wish I had an scanner small enough to bring with us, I would dearly  
love to see the changes in here." Her hand again ran down Lucas' flank and  
tail. This time she caught the end of the glance the two of them exchanged  
and it brought back to mind the photo Ortiz had shown her and the  
Commander. But there was no easy way that she could ask them if they were  
intimate. To tell the truth it was really none of her business if they  
were or not. They still had their own lives to live and change or no  
change the two of them were free to do what they wished.

Finally she ran out of tests and she started to put her EVA suit back on  
for the return trip. Nathan saw Lucas staring up at the blueness above  
them and heard his sigh.

"Don't worry," smiled Nathan, "We'll come up again. Just because we have  
these now," he lifted his fluke then let it drop back with a splash,  
"Doesn't mean we can't spend time on the surface." Lucas smiled and almost  
reached out to touch his lover, but the presence of the doctor held him  
back. 

"We'll take Wendy back to the seaQuest, and wait for her results from the  
tests." Nathan leaned forward a little, "that weed bed will still be  
there." This time Lucas did reach out, his hand resting on Nathan's flank,  
until the doctor started to waddle down towards them. The mermen twisted  
and flicked themselves into deeper water as Wendy made her own way after  
them. 

"You're going to have to help me with this helmet," pointed out the  
woman, as she struggled with the clasps. Without thinking about it, Nathan  
wound his tail round one of Wendy's armoured legs, lifted himself almost  
out of the water and then clamped the locks shut with one powerful twist.  
Then with easier movements, Wendy made her way deeper into the water. The  
mermen reached out and took their grips again and started to tow her out  
from the reef. They pointed things out to her as they did, asking what  
colour she saw then trying to describe what they saw. It was one further  
bit of information for her to collect. 

"Nathan, you know how I said I wished I had a portable scanner back there  
on the beach?"

"Yes."

"Well, when we get back to the seaQuest, would you mind staying around  
while I jury-rig something with the ships sensors?" 

Before Nathan could say anything Lucas spoke, "You might want to ask  
Lonnie to help you. She did a wonderful job on one of my computers recently."

"So that's okay with you, Nathan?"

"If Lucas doesn't mind why should I?" To Wendy the trip back to the  
seaQuest seemed so much shorter then the trip out, mainly because the two  
spoke more freely to her then before.

When they got back to the ship, Piccolo and Darwin were waiting for them  
outside the sea doors. Tony swam out and with a nod and a quick hi, took  
control of Wendy's return back through the sea doors. Nathan and Lucas  
returned to the face the main view port on the Bridge.

"There you are, Jonathan, one doctor returned safe and sound."

"Thank you, Captain. Are the two of you going to stay in the area?"

Nathan nodded, "Until Wendy comes up with the results, yes. We'll keep  
the com-link a little longer, call when she comes up with something, will  
you." Lucas had already swung away from the seaQuest and headed for the  
weed bed, Nathan followed after him.

Ford only waited until they broke contact, then he was off the Bridge and  
on his way to the Moon Pool. There was quite a crowd waiting for Smith's  
return. Lucas' father, McGath, Brodie and most of the crew that had any  
reason what-so-ever to be in the Moon Pool area. It only took the  
appearance of a frowning Ford to get rid of the crew that wasn't supposed  
to be there and most of the crew who was. Piccolo stood in the water,  
helping the helmet off Smith, struggling with the clasp until he got it  
undone. Wendy remembered how easily Nathan had locked it.

Questions poured in on her as soon as the helmet had been removed but she  
held up her hands. 

"Come on, guys, I haven't even got out of the water." Wolenczak came  
forward and with Piccolo's help pulled the case up out of the water, eyeing  
it hungrily.

"How did Lucas look?"

"And the Captain?" asked Ford.

"They both looked exceptional," she said climbing out of the pool. "By  
the way, Doctor Wolenczak, you know how you said that Lucas was too young  
to know his own mind, well you don't have that to fall back on any more." 

"What are you saying?"

"Well," Wendy accepted a towel from Brodie, "by the looks of him now, I'd  
put his age at somewhere in his early twenties."

"What?"

"And it wasn't a trick of the light, Nathan has returned, oh, I say to  
his early thirties, maybe younger." Wendy started to dry her hair. 

"That's unbelievable!"

"Believe it. Whatever was done to them has placed them at perfect ages,  
and their physique has changed as well." Every one followed after her as  
she left the Moon Pool room and headed for her lab. Piccolo shrugged and  
followed after them with the case over his shoulder.

"What else did you observe that you can tell us?" asked McGath. 

Wendy remembered that look between the two merman then pushed it to the  
back of her mind. "Those jewels they are wearing are real."

Lucas' father exploded, "Who the blazes cares about that? What did you  
find out about what happened to them." 

Wendy sat on a stool beside her work space and the others followed suit.  
She looked hard at the worried father and shook her head. "You're going to  
have to come to grips with the fact that your son has chosen a different  
life. From what I saw when I examined them, they have been completely and  
unconditionally, physically changed. That's no outer change, they aren't  
just wearing tails and flukes over their legs, they have tails and fins  
*instead* of legs. They agreed for me to try and do a scan with the ships  
sensors, but I think I'll find the same thing. The normal human pelvic and  
leg bones have somehow been reformed to make up what I would guess would  
turn out to be Lumbar and Caudal vertebrate, like those of a dolphin."

"Come on, Doctor, not all of us know about marine biology," grumbled Ford. 

Wendy grabbed Piccolo and turned him around, using his back as a display  
she explained. "Now, Lumbar vertebrate make up the part from just below the  
ribs to here," she ran a finger down Piccolo's back, to his tail bone,  
"then Caudal vertebrate," she drew an imaginary tail down between his legs,  
"Makes up the tail with the fluke at the end."

Lucas' father fell back in his seat, his face pale.

"They are what they are," said Wendy leaning towards the stricken man,  
"and nothing I, or medical science at this time, can change them back."

"What am I going to tell his mother?" moaned the man. 

The others threw looks of pity at the man, but it was McGath that broke  
the silence. "Could you tell if it was still the Nathan and Lucas we knew?"

"If you mean, did I read them? Yes I did. They are the same and yet  
they aren't."

"That's not much of an answer, Doctor."

"That's the only answer I've got for you, sir. That is still Lucas and  
Nathan, and yet the two of them have grown, changed, if I can use that  
word, to something above the old Lucas and Nathan." She shrugged then  
jumped out of her chair.

"Okay, talk over, get out of here so I can get to work." A subdued  
Wolenczak asked if he could stay and help as the others started to leave.  
She spoke to Ford on the side before he went, "Could you send Henderson  
down here when you can, I want her to help me fix something with the  
sensors so that I can get that scan from Nathan and Lucas." Ford agreed  
and headed for the Bridge.

McGath went back to the Ward Room to contact the leaders of the UEO and  
tell them that everything seemed to be working out all right.

The call came through for Ford even before he had stepped back on the  
Bridge. O'Neill was just reaching for the com-link when he walked in.

"Commander, I've got a Priority One message for you."

"Put it up on the main screen." The screen flashed into life and a  
worried face stared out at Ford.

"seaQuest, are you there?"

"This is the seaQuest. How can we help you."

"This is the Reef Resort, something has happened on the tourist WaterTube  
that connects our resort with the main reef. We have shuttles that travel  
under water through the tube to the reef giving the tourist a view of the  
reef, but there's been a accident on it. We think that two shuttles have  
collided. We have no idea how they both got on the same lane." The man  
stared out at Ford, clearly worried. "The accident has triggered the  
safety devices and the computer says that the air-tight doors have closed  
on the area of the accident, but we can't communicate with the shuttles.  
We have no idea if the doors have stopped water from getting into the tunnel."

Ford finally managed to brake in on the babbling man, "Sir, sir, can you  
send your co-ordinates?" The man stopped talking long enough to nod and  
send the seaQuest the numbers Ford wanted. Then before he could start  
again, Ford asked a question of his own, "Why call us? Don't you have  
rescue gear of your own?"

"Yes, yes, but one of the rescue launches was damaged in the last cyclone  
and the other was loaned out to a resort nearby before the cyclone hit us  
and we haven't got it back yet." Ford looked down at the as the  
coordinates flashed across his screen in front of him.

"ETA, Henderson?

"Thirty minutes for us sir, then a further twenty for the rescue  
launches. We're too big to get too close." 

"Get us there faster," was all he said, then turned back to the man on  
the screen. "We'll be there as fast as we can, do you know if they have  
oxygen?" Ford could see the man calming down as he talked.

"I've sent a couple of resort staff out in diving gear, to get a first  
hand look at what's going on. They are experienced divers and won't do  
anything stupid," the man said as he saw the look on Ford's face.

"Can you call us as soon as their report come in?"

"Yes Captain," the man signed of before Ford could correct him. Ford  
shrugged and turned back to O'Neill, "Call the Captain and Lucas and tell  
them what we're doing." 

O'Neill did so and turned to Ford, "They want to help, sir, they said  
that they'll follow after us." 

"Can they keep up with us?"

"I'd say that's a yes, Commander," put in Ortiz from his station, "the  
whiskers have them right beside us, matching our speed." 

Ford whistled softly, "Miguel, record what their doing, the Doctor would  
probably like to see it. O'Neill call through to the Sick Bay and tell  
them to get ready for the rescue. Brodie?" Jimmy appeared beside Ford,  
"Get down to the launch bay and get all the launches outfitted for the  
rescue."

"All of them?" 

Ford nodded, "Yes, we have no idea of the number of survivors as yet, and  
get one outfitted with a trauma team, that'll go in first and can handle  
any critical personnel. And have all the Sea Crabs ready as well, they can  
go out in case there's any debris to be moved." Brodie nodded and  
disappeared. When Ford could see that everything was being prepared he  
asked O'Neill to put him through to Nathan.

"Nathan, Lucas?"

"Yes, Jonathan. Tim said that it sounded bad."

"Bad enough," It didn't even sound like they were breathing hard and yet  
seaQuest was going at just about her top speed. "We're going to get the  
seaQuest in as close as possible to the reef, then the rescue launches and  
Sea Crabs are going in the rest of the way. You and Lucas would be a lot  
of help if they do need to move stuff out of the way."

"And Tony?" queried Nathan.

"He'll be on the first launch and he'll join you as soon as they reach  
the accident site." 

The manager at the Resort got back in contact with the seaQuest just  
before she reached the edge of the reef area.

"It's worst then I thought, seaQuest, the tunnel has come loose from it's  
supports and those supports have collapsed on top of the section of Tube  
the survivors are in."

"Do you have any kind of survivor count as yet."

"Yes, they were able to hold up a sign that told my people that there was  
one dead, five badly hurt and fifty walking survivors, some hurt  
superficially."

Ford passed on the information to all concerned. Then they reached the  
reef and he sent out all the rescue vehicles. 

It looked bad, the wreckage they had to get through was piled high and  
didn't look to stable. It looked all twisted and impassable. Lucas and  
Nathan exchanged looks, then Nathan leaned closer whispering words that  
neither had uttered before.

"I love you, Lucas."

"And I love you too, so let's both be careful."

"Jimmy?" called Nathan over his com-link, both he and Lucas carried them  
now. "Lucas and I will go up top and help fasten the Sea Crabs grapples to  
the steel pylons, Tony will show the drivers where to drop them after  
they're clear of this area, understand?"

"Understood, sir." Lucas and Nathan swam to the top of the piled  
wreckage and started the rescue. It was like playing an extra large game  
of pick-up-sticks. They would examine each of the cumbersome pylons, pick  
out a safe one, then manoeuvre the grapples in place and signal the Sea  
Crabs to lift them out of the way. Even with all the wreckage, the rescue  
was going faster than thought, with the help of Tony, Lucas and Nathan,  
there was no need to rotate the divers that would have done the jobs they  
were doing. It wasn't long before they had cleared the Tube at both ends,  
were the emergency air-locks where.

"Jonathan?" called Lucas.

"Yes, I'm here."

"We're through, both ends are clear and the launches can start to move  
up. Nathan and I will each take an end and be ready in case there is any  
need for help as they get in place on the air-locks."

"Understood!" People had moved to the plasti-glass, staring at the two  
mermen as they helped clear away the debris, pointing at them and talking  
excitedly to each other. They called over the others that could move and  
just about all the survivors stood and stared. It made Lucas nervous, but  
Nathan ignored the whole thing. 

At Nathan's end the docking was easy and Ortiz climbed out of the  
air-lock calling for the badly hurt to be brought to his launch. Several  
of the heftier men carried over the critical ones and they were gently  
placed on board the launch, he also took the children. Most of the women  
were loaded on the other launch. It was as the second launch, the one at  
Lucas' end pulled away that the trouble started. The emergency air-lock  
had been damaged in the accident and it wasn't until the launch pulled away  
that the damage showed up, the outer door collapsed and was unusable after  
that. As Lucas reported the incident, he swam to the other end.

"It just means it's going to take longer, that's all," came over Ford's  
voice.

"I don't know," put in Lucas, "I don't like the look of the plasti-glass  
down that end...You might want to move things along, Jonathan." The third  
launch was just about to dock when Tony swam up to the two mermen. 

"Tony, can you get in there, before the launch docks, I'll explain when  
you're inside," asked Nathan. Tony nodded and scooted into the air-lock  
just before the third launch docked. He was inside in a matter of seconds  
and had the door closed for the launches docking. 

"Okay, Tony, get all the diving gear out of the launch, Lucas said that  
the plasti-glass down the other end looks a little iffy and we might need  
it in a hurry." As the people climbed into the launch, the gear was shoved  
out to Tony, which helped in the end as they managed to take a extra couple  
of people. A couple of the men started to ask Tony just what were Nathan  
and Lucas, all he replied with was a snarled, "Well what the hell do you  
think they are?" and shoved them onboard the launch. 

It was while Tony was getting the gear out that Lucas heard something, he  
quickly went back to the far end and saw the stress lines forming around  
the ruined air-lock. He called Tony on his com-link, "If not everyone is  
going to fit on that launch, you had better get them suited up, the  
plasti-glass is starting to go." The launch was dangerously overcrowded  
but five of the people on board said that they knew how to dive, so picking  
out the biggest of them, two men and a woman, Tony shoved the rest on the  
launch and closed the air-lock. The three people left with Tony scrambled  
into the oxygen tanks and mask, not worrying about the suits. As soon as  
the air-lock was free, Tony started shoving the geared air breathers  
through. One by one they clambered out and found themselves face to face  
with the two mermen. As Tony joined them, Nathan spoke, making the  
survivors jerk in shock.

"Tony, you take the young lady, we'll take the men." Telling the dazed  
people to just hang limp, the three water breathers grabbed hold of the  
straps of the tanks and started to tow them after the last launch.

"What about the dead guy?" asked Tony.

"They'll come back for the body when it safe," said Lucas.

Back on the seaQuest, the first launch had reached the docking bay and  
had released it's cargo. Doctor Smith had gone along in the first launch  
and was the first out, as the stronger of the crew helped manoeuvre the  
hurt survivors out of the launch. The children swarmed up after the  
wounded were gone, and some started to cry. It was bedlam. Then the  
second launch docked and the men and woman who climbed out started to  
collect their children, also asking questions about the strange men they  
had seen swimming outside the Tube. Ford had ordered that not a word was  
to be said about Nathan or Lucas, or even Tony. So they didn't get any  
answers. Ford stood there as the people were taken away to temporary  
quarters.

"Well," he muttered to himself, "so much for secrecy." Then he headed  
for the Moon Pool, as the three that Tony, Nathan and Lucas were bringing  
back were going to come aboard there. 

Without a thought about what they were doing, Nathan and Lucas followed  
Tony, and swam through the sea doors, right into the Moon Pool area. They  
helped the survivors to stand upright before they realised where they were,  
and as they were about to turn and leave the ship, the man Lucas had towed  
removed his mask and mouth piece and smiled. He was wearing what was left  
of an expensive suit. 

"I don't know who you are, but thank you very, very much." Lucas smiled  
back and Nathan waved a careless hand and the two of them were out the sea  
doors before any one was the wiser that they had been on board. Ford  
entered the Moon Pool room as Tony was helping the three up-worlders remove  
the diving gear. He heard the tail end of the conversation.

"...so you're an experimental, with gills and all. What are your  
friends?" Ford broke in before any-more could be said. 

"Piccolo, head back out and check over the area." Tony, glad of an  
excuse to leave, dived over the edge of the Moon Pool and was gone. The  
man in the suit, turned to face Ford and saw what he was.

"Ah, Commander," Ford raised an eyebrow at the man quick recognition of  
his rank.

"If you will follow me, sirs, ma'am," asked Ford as he headed for the door.

"But, Commander, tell me about our rescuers. They are fascinating!" The  
other man and the woman nodded.

"I've never seen anything like them ever before. Who are they?" asked  
the woman. She had found the two strange beings extraordinary and  
mysterious, but oh so handsome, and all those jewels. Although there was  
something about that jewellery.... 

Ignoring the questions, Ford could see any hope of keeping Lucas and  
Nathan a secret any longer go right out the window. They might have a  
reason to keep these people on board for quarantine reasons, but they will  
have to let them contact the outside world. "Damn," muttered Ford to  
himself, as he decided to drop everything in the Secretary General's lap. 

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Nathan and Lucas headed for the deep shadow under the seaQuest. One of  
the few places that had no sensors near it. Having been the original  
designer of the seaQuest was coming in handy. They came to rest and just  
floated there, staring at one another. 

"That was scary," murmured Lucas, "we went right into the seaQuest  
without any thought at all." Nathan nodded.

"Old habits die hard," he pointed out, "but I think that after today the  
seaQuest might very well be the least of our problems." 

Lucas agreed, frowning a little at the memory of the stares they had  
received from the up worlders. "I didn't think it would make me feel so,  
so..." Lucas ran a hand down his chest, then looked at his tail and fluke,  
he shook his head and when Nathan reached out and touched his shoulder in  
comfort, Lucas took it in his.

"Do you want to go back..." before Nathan could finish the question,  
Lucas grabbed Nathan's arm and pulled him into his crushing embrace.

"God no, Nathan! I could never go back to that life now. To be without  
you, without this," he touched his tail. "It would be like cutting off my  
own right arm!" Nathan returned his embrace.

"We would still be together, no matter what we did," Nathan was hesitant,  
he didn't want to lose Lucas, even if that meant going back to being an  
up-worlder. Pulling away from Nathan's chest, Lucas looked into the  
concerned eyes of his lover, then he leaned forward and gently kissed his  
cheek. 

"I love you," he told him softly. "I think I loved you before I changed  
but I didn't *know it*, didn't know how to *express* it. Now I do, and I'm  
never going to take the chance of losing you. Ever." Their tails coiled  
around one another and Lucas leaned against the warmth of the body holding  
him. Welcomed or not by the up-worlders, they had a life together and they  
had the right of every creature created to live the life they wanted.

They heard him before he reached them, so even though they broke apart,  
they kept holding one another's hands. 

"Hey, Lucas, Cap," Tony's voice was soft and hesitant, he'd seen them  
pull away from each other. "I thought the two of you might be here," he  
said getting a little of his brashness back, "This is one of my favourite  
hide-outs." Lucas laugh was a bit shaky, but he didn't pull his hand away  
from Nathan's. 

"Those people," murmured Nathan as he looked across at Tony, "they kind  
of upset Lucas."

"Yeah, well, I got the same reaction myself the first time someone other  
then Navy first saw me using my gills. Don't let it worry you. Ford has  
probably got the whole thing under control."

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Ford was out of his mind with frustration, he'd found out that the  
well-dressed man who had seen Lucas and Nathan was a Corporate Executive  
for one of the bigger companies that now flourished under the UEO. He knew  
Secretary General McGath, and many, *many* other high-ups in the UEO, so  
when he saw McGath and started asking questions.... 

Ford had finally retreated to the Bridge, the one place that he had made  
sure was completely off limits to all but the crew of the seaQuest.  
O'Neill had already fielded five calls from News Agencies. The UEO were  
screaming, wanting to know why the blackout had been lifted, and the  
survivors wanted to get of the seaQuest and back to the real world, after  
finding out all they could about the mermen and the jewels they had been  
wearing. Ford didn't know which was the most famous at the moment, the  
discovery of real live mermen or that the jewels that Nathan and Lucas wore  
so carelessly had turned out to be one of the most famous treasures ever  
lost on the high seas. *That* had turned out to be the last straw for  
Ford. It seemed that the woman Tony had towed back to the seaQuest was a  
bonafide treasure hunter who had been at the resort for the simple reasons  
that there had been reports from the surrounding area of what could have  
been a wreck. Ford leaned back in the Captain's chair, rubbing his eyes.  
Treasure hunters he didn't need! 

 

The woman Ford was thinking about, was back in the Moon Pool room and  
trying to get some diving gear from one of the technicians there. He gave  
up arguing with her in the end and called security. Brodie turned up and  
had the woman out of the area and back in the area designated to the  
survivors in moments.

"Look, Lieutenant Brodie," she said after checking out his name plate,  
"All I want is to borrow some gear and go ask our rescuers where they found  
those trinkets they're wearing. That's all."

"Well I'm sorry Miss.."

"That's *Ms*, Ms Gloria King."

"Well *Ms King*," Brodie stressed the name, "I would say that where they  
found those *trinkets* is their business. Just as it's my business to take  
care of the security of the seaQuest. This is a Navy ship and we can't  
have civilians wandering around, now can we?" The dark skinned woman  
stared at Brodie in acute dislike and stormed away.

"Pity," muttered Jimmy, "she'd be cute if not for that stiff backbone."  
He got on the com-link and called for more security to watch the civilians.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

 

"You're kidding me?" Ford had just told Nathan what he and Lucas was  
wearing and the merman stared down at the glittering treasure on his chest. 

"Not a bit, Nathan. This King woman has been trying to find out just  
where this ship of yours is ever since she realised what you're wearing." 

"Well, you know where it is, why don't you tell her?"

"Because it's your find, yours and Lucas'. You know the law of the sea  
as well as I do. That wreck is away from any staked waters completely.  
Finders keepers."

"Come on, Jonathan, what does this stuff mean to us?" Lucas lifted one  
of the gold chains that crossed his chest. "We only wore it because it  
looked good," he pointed out.

"Guys," he said, unconsciously lowering his voice, "think about it a  
little. The more leverage you hold, the greater your value. The News  
Agencies have already found out about your help in this rescue, and now  
you've found the most sought after sunken treasure of all time...Keep on  
going like this and you can write your own ticket." Lucas looked across at  
Nathan and then the two turned to Tony.

"I think Jonathan has been spending too much time in your company,"  
pointed out Nathan.

"Hey, but guys, it's a great idea. The more coverage you two get, the  
more likely that the UEO will have to treat you right. After all UEO does  
mean United Earth Oceans, and the oceans just happen to be your home...."  
Tony rubbed his hands together in glee. Things just might work out.  
Nathan shook his head and went back to the main reason he had called  
Jonathan in the first place.

"Has Wendy come up with anything yet?"

"Well, she's been a little rushed with all this trouble, but now that we  
have all these guests on board she's been speeding up the tests. And  
Lucas' father has been helping as well." 

"Dad always was good with a test tube," murmured Lucas.

Ford went on, not having heard Lucas, "So far she's determined that  
radiation from the stones themselves aren't harmful and that there was no  
other factors in your samples that say that what changed you is contagious." 

"That's good," said Nathan, "so what are your plans?"

"The seaQuest is putting back to port at Cape Quest and the survivors are  
going into quarantine at the base there for just a couple of days. They  
and the crew are going to have a complete once over by the medics. Then  
they go back to the real world and we come back out here." Ford took a  
deep breath, "I would like to think, sir, that the two of you would still  
be around when we came back."

The two mermen exchanged looks, "Where else would we be?" chuckled Lucas. 

Ford ordered Tony to come back aboard the seaQuest but before he could  
Nathan and Lucas took turns giving him a quick hug, and this time Tony  
returned the embrace.

As the seaQuest disappeared into the haze, Darwin swam up to meet Lucas  
and Nathan. And the three former crew members watched as she faded out of  
sight. 

"Fun now?" asked Darwin and Lucas did a quick twist around Nathan.

"Fun now!" chortled the young merman as he raced away with the other two  
close behind him. 

They danced through the blue, touching and stroking each other as they  
cavorted. The sunlight exploded around them as they broke the surface in a  
flashing display of breaches. Back-somersaults and tail walking, the three  
tried to out do each other before they headed back down to their blue home.  
Darwin peeled off before they got too deep and when Nathan and Lucas  
called after him, he replied with, "Back soon, back soon. Nathan and Lucas  
have fun," and left the two together alone.

They spiralled downwards, around and around each other, not touching,  
just looking. It wasn't until they had almost reached the sea-bed that  
Nathan held out a hand and Lucas took it. The two found themselves in each  
others arms as they fell the rest of the way to the sea floor. 

Lucas raked his fingers through Nathan's hair, and then let them curve  
around his neck, digging into the muscle there, pulling his lovers head  
down to meet his. Again Lucas' lips tasted the heat of Nathan's and when  
his lover tried to take over the kiss, Lucas muttered something that seemed  
to make Nathan leave it to him. Letting one hand trail across the chest  
that pressed against his, Lucas rubbed his palm over nipples and down to  
the solid wall of muscle on his lovers stomach. He could feel Nathan's  
hands as they stroked and raked across his back and down to his flanks. He  
had to grit his teeth one time and hiss in Nathan's ear to stop what he was  
doing of they'd have to start all over again. The laughter that rumbled in  
his lovers chest also almost set him off.

Lucas let their tails brush against each other, not quite coming to the  
pinnacle of passion and every time Nathan tried to catch his, he flicked it  
out of the way and kissed him again. He wanted to have his 'fun' and fully  
enjoy it.

His downfall finally came when he got so engrossed with the way his  
lovers ears had that little point that Nathan was finally able to capture  
his writhing tail. Lucas arched his back as the sensation of what Nathan  
was doing broke through the daze. His fingers dug deep into the shoulders  
beneath them and his cry of release had Nathan seize him in a crushing  
grasp, as his own release flowed through him. 

Lucas' hands lost their grip and slowly his arms slid down around  
Nathan's waist. When he was able to speak, his voice was still husky from  
the cry he'd given.

"You cheated, I wanted to play longer." 

Nathan kissed his neck and held him closer, smiling to himself. "Next  
time," murmured Nathan, "you make me so hungry for you that I couldn't wait  
any longer. Next time," he promised, "next time." 

The End.


End file.
